Fragile Is Trust
by AngelShep
Summary: Tony doesn't trust easily but he trusts the Avengers. But that single mission manages to shatter everything and now the team has to pick up the pieces, but there's a long way to go. Add SHIELD and a new enemy, and it only gets harder. Team-fic, Pepperony, some hurt!Tony, big Tony-whump in later chapters! Enjoy!
1. Shattered Trust

**Hello ! I had this idea in my head for quite some time now, so here it is on paper and it turned out longer than I thought it'd be.**

**Anyway, have fun reading ! Oh and if some characters may seem OOC, just think of it that way: they don't know all the story and they see people hurt and they're angry, they didn't think it through. Hope it makes sense... :S**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Avengers.**

* * *

**Fragile Is Trust**

Pepper didn't know what had happened but she knew something was wrong. Very wrong. She could sense the tension in the air, she could see the glares the team directed at Tony – even Bruce. And she didn't understand why.

Tony was subdued and barely talked anymore. And this…_This_ was so wrong. She was used to Tony always talking, being just generally loud and flamboyant. She was used to him being there and you just… you _couldn't_ not know he was there because the instant he was in a room, you knew it and you couldn't forget it. His presence was overwhelming and he… He was so… It was just the way he was, it was him being _Tony Stark_.

And now… Now he didn't talk, he wasn't loud and obnoxious and arrogant and everything that made him _him_. When he was in a room with her, she sometimes managed to _forget _he was there, even if he was standing _just_ next to her. It felt so damn wrong.

And it had started two days ago.

There had been a mission – nothing new there – and when they came back, everyone had been tense and Tony had just gone to his lab and locked himself up there. It wasn't unusual. But the problem was how he avoided everyone's gaze and just didn't look at Clint and Natasha who were both hurt. Natasha had a sprained ankle and Clint a broken wrist. The mission had turned wrong it seemed and they blamed Tony.

She hated it. She was caught in the middle and she didn't even know why.

But she knew Tony. He would feel the guilt and the blame they put on him, believe it truly was his fault and that would make him be even more reckless than he usually is. And then the guilt he felt would grow and make his low self-esteem lower and he would drink more to try and forget it. That would lead him to saying things he would regret later to the team with his words so short but sharp and meaningful because he was good with them. And they would start hating him and _that_ would make him hate himself for the pain he caused them and he would push everyone away so much that they would truly end up hating him and then… The team would be broken and Tony would be the one that's the most hurt out of them all.

And she had to prevent this now while she still could.

She needed to know what happened.

That's why she decided to catch the team (minus Tony) while they were doing a movie night. She entered the room, the sound of her high heels clicking on the floor overpowering the sound of the TV thanks to Jarvis turning it down. They frowned and turned to her, wondering what she wanted – or probably thinking Tony had sent her. She stopped in front of the TV, facing them, standing tall, her arms crossed, blue eyes slightly narrowed. She wouldn't let them get away without giving her answers.

"Tony sent you? Couldn't come to us himself? He's such a co…"

Pepper cut Steve before he could finish that word. "What happened during that mission?"

Her eyes immediately caught the way Steve and Thor tense, the raised eyebrow Natasha sent her, how Bruce kept his eyes on his hands that he clenched on his lap and finally the snort Clint let out. "Like you don't know."

She raised an eyebrow. "I _don't_ actually but I live in this tower as well and I'm not blind. You're mad at Tony for some reason and it has something to do with the mission from two days ago. I think I have the right to know why."

"Why don't you ask your _boyfriend_?" Clint spat the last word with so much venom that she suddenly wondered if maybe she was too late. What if the team was broken beyond repair already? _God, what happened on that mission?_

"I'm asking _you_," she replied coolly, using that no non-sense business voice she perfected during the years she spent dealing with people who were trying to intimidate her into doing what they wanted her to do.

"Fine, you want to know, then we're going to tell you," snapped Steve. Her eyes flew to him, not betraying anything, but she was surprised at the vehemence of the Captain, being used to his gentleness and shyness when he would address her. "Tony disobeyed direct orders."

"Am I supposed to be surprised?" If they only learned _now_ that Tony wasn't one to obey orders he thought wrong, then they had no right to get mad at him.

"He flew in an unstable building on which Clint was. The building _collapsed_ while he was on it."

"Bruises everywhere, a bruised rib, a dislocated shoulder and a broken wrist. Thank you very much _Tony_," Clint said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. Pepper frowned. There was something…

"And then he disobeyed again by going to 'help' Natasha," Steve continued.

"I had everything under control and was about to do something that needed all my concentration. He arrived and distracted me which resulted in me falling and twisting my ankle," the redhead explained, voice cold and face emotionless. "I didn't need his help."

"His actions could have lead to something far worse and we can't afford to let him do everything he wants without him being aware of the consequences," Steve finished, crossing his arms and straightening his back. Ever the leader.

But Pepper knew better. There was something there that didn't add up with Tony. She knew the man, better than any of them. He would never have done something that would hurt any of them. She nodded and thanked them, voice clipped and firm, before turning on her heels and marching out of the room. She could feel their eyes on her back while the TV turned back on.

She headed straight to Tony's private workshop where she knew he was. "Jarvis?"

"Yes, Miss Potts?"

"What's his mood?" She asked watching him through the glass doors. He was at his desk, tinkering with something she couldn't see. Screens displayed information around him and she vaguely recognized the holograms of a Starkpad and Starkphone. She could see the way he was hunched over himself, his shoulder blades tense. She saw the half-dozen of cups of coffee, probably empty, on the desk. His hair was ruffled, standing up on the edges – he must have run his hand through it several times. She couldn't see his face but she knew he would be a little pale, with dark circles under his bloodshot eyes, his beard would be a bit unkempt, his cheeks hollow. She doubted he ate anything in the last two days – except for Dummy's smoothies (sometimes she thanked the God for that robot because he was the only one that managed to keep Tony alive with his smoothies and coffees.).

"He is… tired and has swinging moods, Miss Potts. Right now, he is on a… I would say disgruntled mood." Jarvis answered, his voice filled with worry. She smiled slightly at that thought, knowing Tony would deny Jarvis having the ability to feel anything.

"Thank you Jarvis." She put on her code and entered the shop.

Tony didn't look up despite the fact that the absence of music made it impossible for him not to know she was there – and he knew for sure it was her because she was the only one who could access that lab without his authorization. She walked to him and stopped when she was standing beside him. She looked down at his work and saw he was tinkering with a pad.

"I'm working on updating the Stark pad and phone. I sign all the papers and corrected some when I didn't agree with some points." He gestured at the stack of papers on the desk behind him.

"I'm not here for that, Tony." He sighed and put his screwdriver down. He looked up at her, putting his hands down on his lap, turning his wheeling chair so that he would face her. "What happened?"

He closed his eyes and his shoulders fell a little. His defeated posture accented the almost sick appearance he had. Her heart clenched for him because she knew he would get hurt and she couldn't do anything to stop that. "I… I hurt them. They're right to blame me, they could have _died_ because of me."

She looked behind her and grabbed the chair that was there. She sat on it and took Tony's hands. His eyes drifted to their linked hands and he sighed. She hated seeing him like this. "Tony, did you know they didn't need your help?" He looked up at her and frowned. "I know _you_. You would never have done something that could hurt them willingly. There was something wrong, right?" She pressed further, squeezing his hands.

He half-smiled. "Why can't they see that? My ear-piece broke when one of those robots hit me on the head. I tried to get Jarvis to maintain the communication but in the middle of the fight I couldn't… I didn't know because I didn't _hear_ it."

And somehow that made it all worst. Because this was a matter of _trust._ They shouldn't have had to ask why Tony disobeyed (they didn't even ask but that's beside the point), they should have known Tony wouldn't have done that without a reason. They should have known he wouldn't have done anything that would have hurt any of them. They should have known better, like she did. They should have trusted him.

Because _this_? This may have destroyed the trust Tony had put in them. He had opened his home, his heart to them. He didn't have to. But he did despite the fact that it was against his very being, against everything he learned since an early age. He had his heart ripped out of his chest once and yet he willingly allowed them into his home and they became his friends.

And now everything was shattered by this single and simple mission.

"Tony…"

He shook his head and turned back to his work, his hands slipping out of hers. She knew she was losing him just there, he was closing himself off and she hated it _so much_ and it was their fault. Tony wasn't to blame here, _they_ were, because it was them who were destroying the team with their lack of trust in one of theirs.

"Don't turn away from me, Tony, please. It's _me_, Tony." He closed his eyes and nodded slowly. She held back a sigh of relief and took his hand. "Come on, you need to eat something." He let her pull him out of the lab and to their private kitchen on their floor.

She pushed him into talking about his last project while she prepared some pasta with bolognese for the both of them. He started talking and then quickly went back to his passionate self, moving his hands around, being loud and just the man she had grown to know and love.

And maybe for right now that was enough.

* * *

The next morning, Tony woke up to the gorgeous view of Pepper still sleeping in their bed, her head on his chest with one of her hands. He raised his hand and slipped his fingers through her hair, pushing it out of the way. He didn't know how he got so lucky into having her with him, by his side, no matter what. He flew his fingers over her cheek, smiling when she did.

He felt her body move closer to his and he caught her hand with his, bringing it to his lips, kissing it softly. Oh God he loved her. He didn't know how he could live without her. But that didn't erase how hurt he was that they would turn so quickly against him when something happened. They didn't even… They didn't doubt for a second that it was completely accidental. How could they think he would do it on purpose? It hurt so much to know he would put his trust in them and…

"Tony?" Her voice brought him back to earth and he looked down at her. Her blue eyes caught his and she smiled. She pushed herself up and kissed his lips softly before extricating herself out of his embrace. She sat up and looked over her shoulder at him, straightening the t-shirt she slept in. "Come on, up you go," she told him.

He groaned but executed himself, sitting up. He swung his legs on the side and put his feet on the ground. He stretched before standing up. He turned to her and saw she was rummaging through their wardrobe, looking for her outfit. "I'll be at the kitchen."

"Okay. I'm taking a shower real quick and I'm joining you." He headed for the door, barefoot, rubbing his eyes with his fingers to try and completely get the remnants of his sleep out of them. Pepper's voice made him stop at the door. "Which kitchen are you going to?"

"The one on the floor bellow. I'm out of coffee on this one." She nodded and he got out.

As he told her, he went to the kitchen on the floor under theirs and immediately set himself behind the coffee machine, turning it on. He put his hands on the counter, eyes fixed on the pot, and sighed. His mind wandered back to the dangerous territory that had become the Avengers. He still couldn't believe they would turn against him so quickly. He knew it was his fault they were hurt because he was the reason why they were hurt even though he didn't know his coming to them would bring the exact opposite chain of actions he was looking for.

He couldn't believe how little trust they had in him. Did they really think he was that much of a time-ticking bomb that he would just… just what, by the way? Do things that would lead to people getting hurt? _Damn it_, he created Iron Man to destroy all his weapons because he didn't want people to die because of those! Why would he now try to hurt his teammates, his friends, his… His family.

"What are you doing here?"

He froze when he heard those words, recognizing the cold voice. How could he be such an idiot that he forgot this was the commune kitchen where any Avenger could go at any given time. Like now for example.

"Having my breakfast?" he said, though it sounded more like a question even to his ears. He turned partway to be able to see Steve.

"Don't you have a kitchen upstairs?" He vaguely noticed that the rest of the Avengers were there as well, standing around Steve and looking just as pissed as he was. _Great, just what I needed right now_, he thought.

"I'm out of coffee," he answered easily, trying to act as relaxed as ever. They won't do anything to him. They couldn't. It wasn't… it was his fault but he never wanted this. They knew that, right? He wasn't so sure anymore and he knew if it came down to that, he wouldn't stand a chance. Just Clint or Natasha would be enough to deal with him. He didn't even hope to have a chance against Thor or Steve with their super strength and Bruce? He might, if he stayed Bruce. But seeing his tense stance, the way his hands were clenched into fists, he knew without a doubt that the Hulk wasn't that far.

"So you thought you could come here, like you own everything," snapped Clint, trying to cross his arms and failing miserably since one was in a sling.

Should he say that _yes_, indeed he owned pretty much everything in the tower or should he shut his mouth to try and calm them down slightly? He saw Pepper appear behind the Avengers and stop when she noticed the scene. She frowned and looked between the different people there, trying to know what was happening here. Judging by the way she straightened and narrowed her eyes, she had guessed.

And he had no self-preservation at all because his mouth didn't listen to his brain saying _shut up, don't say it!_: "Technically I do. The Tower is mine."

Wrong thing to say. Steve clenched his fists and stepped forward. "Everything's a joke to you. You never take anything seriously and you don't obey to orders. You just do whatever you want to."

Tony opened his mouth to protest but was cut by Natasha: "You don't deserve to be on this team if you can't work with other people." And that hurt. So damn much. But he hid it well behind a mask of indifference and arrogance. But he could tell he wasn't fooling Pepper.

And what hurt even more was how Bruce wasn't even looking at him, avoiding completely his gaze. He thought if one of them might be on his side or at least no side at all, it would be _him_. They were science brothers. They were friends, they worked together all the time, he knew Tony the most out of them all. He couldn't believe he would throw it all away like that. He felt so betrayed. And now he remembered why he never really let people in. To avoid this.

He always ends up the one being hurt.

"And wouldn't you know that, _Nathalie_?" he replied cheekily. He hated how good he was at this whole 'hide and counter back' thing. Maybe if he wasn't so good at it, they would notice what they were doing to him and would stop.

No such chance. "You're incapable of regrets. Do you even know what it feels like to feel remorse?" wondered Clint. He restrained a flinch. Pepper started forward, hands clenched tightly – so tightly her knuckles were white. He knew what she was going to do – what he wouldn't do.

"Now you _all_ shut up and _listen_." They turned around, surprised, and looked at Pepper, who was standing tall, fists clenched, eyes narrowed and full of anger. They certainly didn't expect to see her there and even less to see her so _furious_ at them. Tony winced for them – a furious Pepper isn't a good Pepper, it's a Pepper to _avoid_.

"This is not a conversation that…" Thor started, but he didn't know Pepper if he thought he could stop her now she had decided to speak.

"Did you even stop to think about what happened or did you let your anger cloud your mind so much you didn't even think for a _second_?" She shook her head. "Do you really think Tony would do anything that would hurt one of you?"

They shuffled on their feet (well Clint, Thor and Bruce did – Steve and Natasha? Not so much). Bruce darted a glance at Tony before quickly looking away, swallowing.

"No he wouldn't and you know that." She pursed her lips and looked at Bruce. "I certainly didn't expect _this_ from you, Bruce, of all people." She looked back at the team. "He offered you a home and gave you everything you wanted, he _let you in_. You may not be aware of it but there aren't many people he lets in. And you're throwing all that away the first second you can?"

Steve, ever the leader and always with the best intentions in mind, decided then to cut in. "You're biased. You're his girlfriend, of course you would defend him. You can't see…"

"Can't see what? That he's arrogant? A work alcoholic? Sometimes selfish and narcissist? I know how reckless he is, I know how hard it is to make him listen or get something inside his thick skull." He raised his eyebrows. He knew all that of course and it could have hurt but… he also knew the long list of good things she gave to him again and again until he got it in his _thick head_ that he wasn't the worst person ever. Far from that according to her.

"You… Why are you defending him then?" Clint blurted out. Tony winced because it was one thing from Pepper whom he loved and knew by heart now, and another from Clint. To hear he actually really thought that about him without knowing if there was anything good in his view of him… And when he saw the nods Steve and Natasha gave as well, agreeing with him.

It was too much.

Pepper saw it immediately – what would he do without her again? – and took a step forward, hand opened in front of her to reach for him – even if he was a few feet away and the whole team was standing between them. He practically ran from the room, avoiding the surprised and still disapproving gazes of the Avengers.

He can admit it: he fled.

He didn't stop until he was in his workshop on his floor where no one but Pepper could come in. He sat on the stool in front of the desk he was working at the day before and just stared into space, not really thinking about anything. His mind was blank.

It hurt so damn much to know what they thought about him, how they couldn't see any redeeming qualities. Was Pepper fooling herself, seeing something that didn't exist? Maybe he was every piece the man they saw. Maybe there wasn't anything remotely good in him. Maybe they were right.

Something bumped into his thigh and he looked down to see Dummy holding a welder. He smiled lightly and took it before moving his eyes to the components of the pad on the desk, waiting to be assembled. Maybe the only thing he was good with was machinery. Robots, computers. He could understand them, he was careful with them.

He knew how to deal with them.

Humans…

He should have stuck to machines – they couldn't betray him, he could trust them.

* * *

They should have known better. Steve couldn't believe how narrow-minded and stupid they'd been. How could they have let their anger cloud so much their mind? Everything they had said the past two days to Tony, all the glares they had thrown his way, he had let it all slide, never defending himself. And now he felt terribly guilty. When Tony had walked away, _ran away_ from them, the first thing that had come to his mind was _coward_ but in fact, it wasn't that at all.

Tony had taken it all in stride, letting them tell lies upon lies, turn against him and he'd been ready to confront them this morning until Pepper arrived and decided to put an end to it. The only thing Steve could think of now was how _brave_ and _strong_ Tony had been.

He never felt so guilty before, and he could tell the rest of the team was feeling the same way. Bruce was probably the worst. He didn't remember exactly what had happened because he'd been the Hulk then and only remembered parts of the battle, but had followed the majority of the team, not really thinking twice when he heard their version.

And none of them had tried to hear Tony's version.

Now here they were, standing behind the see-through doors of Tony's private workshop, Pepper with them wondering if she should let them in. They could see Tony, still in the AC/DC shirt and the sweatpants he was wearing when he'd been in the kitchen, still barefoot. One of his robots was beside him. There was a mug of coffee on the desk he was bent over. There were screens above him displaying the holograms of Stark tech that Steve didn't take much care into trying to get to know them. Maybe he should have. That would have meant spending time with Tony and getting to know him and he wouldn't have done the terrible mistake they now had to rectify.

"I'm staying with you. Just… Do what he says. If he tells you to go, you _go_." She gave them a pointed look, hand on the knob, ready to push the door open. They all nodded silently.

And then they were in.

The music blaring from the speakers turned down until it was silent and then: "Jarvis, how many times do I have to tell you? Don't touch my music." He put his welder down and crossed his arms, making his chair spin to face them. "Pepper what…" He trailed off when he saw she wasn't alone.

Steve watched as sadness and hurt then anger flashed into his eyes before his mask slipped back on. If he hadn't been actually looking, he would have missed it. How many times did they miss it? He could see the others had noticed too – it definitively didn't help their guilt into fading away.

"They have something to say." Pepper simply stated, coming to a stop next to Tony – a constant and solid pillar on his side. He glanced at her with narrowed eyes and she raised an eyebrow. He rolled his eyes back and put his head on his fist, looking back at them. Pepper smiled a little and leaned back on the desk, putting a hand down on Tony's right one which was clenched on the armchair. Steve suddenly wondered how long and how much they knew each other to be able to communicate that way.

"I'm listening."

Steve glanced at the others who nodded. Of course, it would be him. He stepped forward and took a deep breath. "We're sorry Tony. We shouldn't have reacted the way we did. We should have known better." Tony's left hand twitched and the captain wondered whether it was a good sign. "We've let our anger cloud our mind when we should have let you the chance to explain. We were harsh, mean, awful, but above all, we were distrustful. You've done so…"

Tony raised a hand up and closed his eyes, leaning back into his chair. Pepper squeezed the hand that was holding tightly to the plastic of the armchair. When he opened them again, they were cold and hard and so… _wrong_, so _not_ Tony. "I get it really, you were bad and I've done a lot of things for you, that's all great." He stood up, Pepper's hand falling limply to her side. He saw her bite her lip and knew she was worried. Steve vaguely wondered for whom she was.

"Stark, we _really_ are," Clint insisted, taking a step forward. "I know this may sound hard to believe after…"

"After you completely made me understand that I was an arrogant narcissist selfish bastard?" Tony finished, voice curt and sharp. Steve flinched, as did Clint, Thor and Bruce. Natasha swallowed and looked away. "It's not hard. It's unbelievable." Tony shook his head and glanced at the robot that was still beside the desk, waiting dutifully. A ghost of a smile crossed Tony's lips as he remembered something. "You wanna know what happened the last time I let someone that wasn't Pepper, Happy or Rhodey in my home?"

Somehow he doubted he wanted to know. Then he saw Natasha wince and he knew he didn't want to.

"Well not the last time. The time before actually. Last time was miss Rushman over here – and what good did it give me, it was as much of a lie." He snorted a little, his eyes still on the robot. Steve wondered if what he was about to tell him had something to do with it. "Obadiah Stane – my godfather, a second father of sorts to me, you could say – he… He ripped my heart out. Literally. I mean he took the reactor out – almost killed me." Steve caught his breath as did Bruce and Clint. Thor's hands clenched instinctively and Natasha closed her eyes, knowing the story. "I trusted him too."

Tony's eyes turned sharply to them. "I let you all in because I wanted to trust you. I knew you wouldn't do something like that. I…" He shook his head. "I thought you trusted me too."

"Tony…" Bruce started, his voice pained, hands shaking.

"It'll come back, you know," Tony continued, pretending Bruce hadn't said a word. "I just… need time. I'll trust you again. But it can't work if it's a one-way thing."

"We'll make it work this time, Tony. I _promise_," Steve quickly said, insisting deeply on the last word.

"You have my word, Man of Iron, we will redeem ourselves in your eyes and never doubt you again." Thor put his hand to his heart, bowing his head slightly.

"Don't know how much my word's worth, but you have mine too."

"Mine as well," Natasha nodded.

Bruce looked up at Tony, who was watching intently Pepper's hand in his – Steve wondered when she had stepped forward to take it. "Tony, I… I promise you I'll try my best to never ever hurt you the way I did. Out of us all, _I_ should have known."

"Thanks." Tony nodded, glancing at them. Then he turned to his desk and they knew he was dismissing them. Slowly, looking back, they made their way out, Tony's voice ringing clear in the silent lab. "You, make me a new coffee. Dummy, I'll need a screwdriver smaller than this one and – no, what are you doing?" Steve held the door, looking back one last time to see Dummy grabbing Tony's pants and pushing at his leg. "Yeah, yeah, I know, you were good, big boy, you saved me, thank _you_, now will _you_ find me that screwdriver?"

Well now Steve knew how the story finished.

With robots that can be more trusted than them when it came to Tony.

_Time. It'll come back. And I'll make sure it'll stay, Tony,_ silently swore Steve, closing the door behind him.

* * *

**Love it, hate it? ****Tell me what you think !**

******And just for those who read my other stories: a big thank you ! Merci !**

******See you, à bientôt !**

******AngelShep**


	2. First Step

**Whoah! Seeing how much you all love it and ask me to continue it, I decided to please you, so here it is!** **It's not much and I'm writing the rest currently, I won't be able to update all that quickly next time. **

**Enjoy !**

* * *

**First step**

Tony sighed, looking at the screen in front of him. He knew he was missing something obvious. It was just there, but he was tired and he had been at it for hours already so the equations and schemas pretty much started not making sense anymore. He put his pad down and rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger, running his other hand in his hair. The solution was there, but it somehow eluded him.

"Need some help?" He looked over his shoulder and saw Bruce walking to him, carefully. Tony held back a snort, as if he was going to jump at him like some kind of enraged animal. It was ridiculous really, for the past few days, ever since the conversation in the lab, they were so damn wary of him that he felt like he was made of porcelain and going to break at any moment. Or for some he was some predator that was going to chew them out and feast on their bones. Which was disgusting.

"There's been some power fluctuations – which is not good – and I can't find what's causing them." Bruce frowned and observed the screen, looking over the equations.

"Maybe something with the reactor?"

"Nope – checked twice." He stretched on the chair and yawned. "Sorry, been up for over a day."

Bruce shoot him a disapproving glance but didn't say anything about it – not still back on being some kind of worrying papa bear. "Anyway I'm here to take you to SHIELD quarters. We have a meeting."

Tony made a face but stoop up. "Let's go make Eyepatch's life impossible then!" Bruce shook his head, smiling a little, and started walking to the door. Tony shut the screen down and followed him.

He wasn't out yet when Jarvis' voice echoed in the lab. "Sir, there is an upcoming call from the hospital."

Tony froze and Bruce turned around, frowning. "Take it."

"Mister Stark?"

"Yes. What is it?"

"You are listed as Miss Potts' contact. She is…"

Tony's eyes widened. "What? She's at the hospital? What happened?" Okay, there definitively was panic in his voice but… _Oh God, Pepper, hospital, please, please, please, no, no, no…_

"Sir, calm down. She is alright. She has a faint episode due to a low blood-sugar level. We gave her…"

"Good, good, that's good. I'm on my way…" Tony quickly started making his way to the elevator, where he met the rest of the Avengers who were waiting for Bruce and him. "Just… make sure she's fine. I… Which hospital is it?"

"Tony?" Steve questioned, wondering what was going on. Bruce shrugged when he shot him a look and shook his head.

"Lenox Hospital, Mister Stark." The doctor seemed puzzled – and Tony hardly blamed him, he knew he was being a bit too worried and panicked and just… it was _Pepper_. He had every right to act so worried that he didn't make sense anymore.

"Okay, good, I'll be there in ten minutes."

"Mister Stark, with all due respect, the Stark tower is further away than just ten…"

"I'll see you in ten." Jarvis cut the conversation, recognizing Tony's tone for what it was. The genius was already at the elevator, whose doors were already opening for him – having an AI running his home was really helpful sometimes. The Avengers still looked confused and didn't know what to do, which was happening a lot since the last mission – but Tony tried to ignore that fact as much as possible. There was no good coming out of dwelling on the past and he wasn't a nostalgic guy at all and just… This was a big no-no. Thinking about it will only lead to thinking about how they didn't trust him and how his poor heart got hurt again and… _Stop!_ Tony reprimanded himself. _Think Pepper and only Pepper_.

"Tony, the meeting…"

"Can wait," Tony cut Steve, turning around in the cabin. "Pepper can't." The doors closed, leaving all the team except for Bruce completely bewildered.

"What did we miss?" Clint asked aloud, looking at the scientist.

"Apparently Pepper is in the hospital, low blood-sugar level," Bruce explained.

"Is she fine?" Natasha asked, concerned. The scientist nodded and the team's shoulders sagged, relief filling them.

"Let's go, we can't make Fury wait any longer." Bruce said, gesturing at the elevator.

* * *

"Where is Stark?" Fury asked the moment he entered the room to see all the Avengers at their respectful place except for the one empty chair – Tony's. It wasn't exactly unusual for Fury to come in and discover that chair empty, whether it was because the man was late or just plain absent, but that didn't mean he had to like it.

"He has gone to his Lady. She needs his undivided attention."

Fury raised a doubtful eyebrow and put his hands flat on the edge of the table. "Why is he not here?" He said slowly, voice tight and controlled.

Bruce bit his lip and Steve fidgeted. Natasha and Clint stayed perfectly still, poker face on. Only Thor dared meet his eyes. He raised his chin high and sat with his back flawlessly straight, making his presence more imposing than usual. He never looked more the prince that he was than in this moment. "The Man Of Iron's Lady is in dire need of medical care. Tony has left to be there for her, as a man should always do when his companion is hurt."

"Something happened to Potts?" Fury repeated, frowning. He wasn't very concerned, but knew better than to wish ill on the woman. No one wanted Tony Stark as an enemy, and even less an angry Tony Stark.

"Nothing major. She's fine, but Tony went to see her at the hospital," Clint answered, crossing his arms.

Fury's eye narrowed. "If she's alright, why Stark isn't _here_ as he should be?"

Thor frowned, anger rising. "His duty is first to the Lady Potts. Whether alright or hurt, she musts…"

"Your _duty_ is to the Avengers and the people of this planet first. She could wait a few hours." Fury snapped. Bruce winced. It was a good thing Tony wasn't here or he would have had a few choice words for the director.

But apparently Thor had taken it upon himself to make sure Fury got it through his head that Tony was in the right. "I will not let you blame the Man of Iron for wanting to be with his beloved. This meeting is simple routine and he is not missing anything that he cannot catch up on later. Time with his lady isn't something he can recuperate as easily."

Fury raised his eyebrows in disbelief. He certainly didn't expect this from Thor, who was a warrior with a deep sense of duty, honor and loyalty. He thought maybe Bruce or Clint would have defended the genius but certainly not Thor. "I think we should end this conversation now before it turns badly."

"It is indeed a wise decision," Thor replied smoothly, his blue eyes cold and full of promises of threats.

Fury exhaled a long angry breath and heavily sat down, clenching his hands in front of him. Bruce let out an amused but proud smile, nodding in Thor's direction.

* * *

"He did what?" Tony exclaimed from the seat next to Pepper's bed. The redhead looked good, her skin was the color of her usual complexion, a smile was tugging at her lips and her hand was tightly cupped between Tony's.

At the end of the meeting Bruce and Clint had decided to go see Pepper and Tony at the hospital. By chance they were still there, waiting for the clear out notice of Pepper's doctor. They were wrapped in discussion when they had arrived and, judging from the expressions on their faces, they weren't talking about any touchy subjects. They had come in and expressed their happiness and relief at seeing Pepper alright. Bruce had added that she shouldn't make an example out of Tony and should eat correctly as well as rest, to which Pepper had replied she would pay more attention to her health while Tony had rolled his eyes, stating that his way of living was a one-person thing and could only work on him – he never ended up in the hospital because of lack of sleep and food, according to him. Bruce had decided best to leave it at that.

Clint had then decided to tell the couple about Thor's great resistance against Fury and defense of Tony's absence.

Which led them to the wide-eyed, disbelieving expression Tony was showing now, along with his slightly opened mouth. Clint barely held back his laughter.

"He stood up to Fury and declared that a man should make his lady come first," repeated Bruce, highly amused.

"We need to thank him, I think," Pepper said, grinning.

"Why did he have to do something like that when I wasn't here? Come on, it's not fair! I miss out on all the fun!" Tony whined, a smirk slowly creeping onto his face.

"Well… it wouldn't have happened if you were there," Clint pointed out. Tony glared at him and he held up his hands. "I'm just saying."

"You should be able to find the footage if you look now. I think Fury will want to erase all trace of it." Tony snorted but grabbed a pad out of Pepper's bag. He turned it on and immediately set himself on the task of hacking into SHIELD's security camera system. "I'm starting to pity him, you know. You were bad enough, but if Thor starts being on his back too…"

Tony scoffed. "Please. It's Fury, a little resistance only makes sure he doesn't get rusty. I'm glad to be helpful that way."

Pepper shook her head at him and turned to her two visitors. "When will Thor come? I want to personally thank him for what he's done. It means a _lot_." Bruce and Clint widened their eyes slightly, understanding clearly the meaning behind those simple words. They glanced at Tony, who was still absorbed by his hacking, then back at Pepper who nodded slowly. _Thor's got Pepper's trust back_, Bruce thought to himself, _he practically has Tony's back too then_.

"He'll come soon. He needed to change into more… casual clothes."

Two things happened then. The door opened on Thor, wearing a jean and a shirt, and Tony grinned saying "Got the footage!", looking up at them.

"What is that footage you're talking about, Son of Stark?"

"Hey Goldilocks! Buddy, come here!" Tony gestured at him, not losing his grin, and, though confused, Thor did as told and came to stand beside the genius. His straight posture showed his wariness around the man but Tony didn't seem to see it. "Here! Was about to look at the little show you put on Fury. Interested?"

Thor frowned. "I didn't put a show on…"

"The stand-off? Face to face?" Tony continued, raising his eyebrows. "Oh come on, Point Break, give me a break. The perfect civil conversation you and Nick Fury had during the meeting," he tried, sarcastically.

"It was hardly perfect and civil, Man of Iron. I do not know who told you those lies, but I was really merely checking the director understood where I would stand should he go after you while your Lady here was unwell."

Tony blinked. Bruce bit his lip. This was the moment. Did Thor get Tony's trust back or not? Pepper was the one person Tony cared the most about, it would kill him to be away from her if she was hurt or sick or anything else. To know Thor would have his back whenever that was the case? This was the best thing anyone could offer him.

Slowly Tony smiled and nodded. "Got it, Thor, thanks man." Pepper smiled and grabbed the pad, turning the video on, not listening to Tony's protests about how he wanted to see it first.

Thor looked at Bruce and Clint and smiled – a little childish, but still a big smile. He did it. He was one step forward into getting Tony's trust back. The other two exchanged a glance. _We can do it_, Bruce thought, knowing Clint had the same thing in mind.

* * *

**Voilà ! Verdict?**

**A bientôt !**

**AngelShep**


	3. Heartbreaking Realizations

**Hello! Here it is! I'm really proud of that chapter, it's probably my favourite so far. Prep your tissues though.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

_**Heartbreaking Realization**_

Clint was the first to see it. It made him realize just how badly they had messed up. He noticed a week after the whole 'Trust Fiasco' as he had decided to name it what Tony did for them. They all had taken it for granted because, well, Tony was a magnate of technology and mechanics and all that stuff they usually let him deal with, so it wasn't that much of a surprise that he would take care of their weapons and armor and all other technological materiel.

Tony stopped making them weapons.

New armor? He did. Improving their ear-pieces, quinjet (all weapons aside)? No problem.

Touching their weapons? Nope. Not anymore.

He didn't trust his technology in their hands anymore. That's what made Clint realize how much they had hurt him if he didn't trust them with his weapons. He knew the story, he'd read the report. Tony stopped making weapons after his capture in Afghanistan and now the only weapons he makes are for his suit and War Machine. And there was once the Avengers.

And Clint didn't blame him. He couldn't. But it seemed he was the only one to have realized it. Because right now they were on the Heliporter (all the team), facing Fury who was asking something Tony would never do. He knew it. He had a feeling Bruce might too. He wasn't sure though. Natasha as well – but that wasn't much of a surprise since she'd been undercover at Stark Industries at one point and knew why Tony didn't make weapons when people asked him to.

Fury was leaning forward, hands flat on the surface of the table in front of him, eyes narrowed at Tony, an angry frown on his face. He was furious, but Tony needed more than that to back down on this. He was casually sitting in his chair, fingers crossed in front of him, a cold smirk on his face, betraying just how much this whole situation infuriated him. His brown eyes were fixed on Fury's one and not looking away. He was in perfect control and Fury knew it.

Clint had to admire him for that. He didn't know many people able to stand up like that against Fury and his numerous threats – which he had already thrown at the genius (in vain). But in a way the director couldn't do much against him: he needed him alive and unhurt if he wanted the inventor to be able to do anything. That didn't leave him with many options to get what he wanted.

"I won't."

"You're a part of that team and a consultant of SHIELD, you _will_ make those weapons for me, Stark. I'm not asking you your _permission_. This is an _order_," Fury snarled.

Tony raised an eyebrow and made a wide gesture with his hand, tilting his head on the side. "You should know by now I'm not one for orders." He pulled a face. "And I'm not at your beck and call, get used to it, Pirate."

Clint bit his lip to restrain his smile. _God, Tony, you're asking for it_.

"You make weapons for the Avengers and you wouldn't make weapons for SHIELD? Don't you think you're being ridiculous? Clint and Natasha are part of the organization!" Fury exclaimed, gesturing at them.

Tony's hands clenched and his face closed suddenly, smirk falling, eyes guarded and dark. "Maybe you should update your sources. It's been quite some time since I made any weapons aside from the ones for the suit, Nicky."

Fury raised an eyebrow in disbelief while the team frowned. Clint sighed and dropped his head. He really was the only one who noticed. "Excuse me? You… Oh that's great Stark! Good team spirit, being selfish enough to only take care of _your_ defense."

Tony's fists tightened so much, his knuckles were white and, Clint guessed his nails must have been piercing his skin, drawing blood. His whole body was trembling in barely restrained rage, and at the same time, Clint saw the hurt behind the guarded look in his eyes.

And then Steve chose that moment to be the biggest idiot in the world: "Why did you stop making weapons for us? And when did you?"

Clint would have hit him. Tony slowly turned his eyes to him and raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "Really Capsicle? Three weeks." He turned back to Fury, not looking at anyone on the team when he dropped that bombshell: "I only make weapons for people I trust."

Steve immediately looked crestfallen and his eyes lowered to his fidgeting hands on his lap. Natasha glanced away at the wall in the opposite direction of the genius. Thor swallowed thickly and stared at a point on the table. Bruce took a long shaky breath and closed his eyes. Tony's gaze flickered to him – they were next to each other as they had always been since the beginning, a choice obvious when everyone had seen how quickly they bonded thanks to their mutual interest in science. Now it was painful for the both of them because they barely worked together again and their conversations were limited to the basics. Bruce was the one who was taking it the worst.

Clint sighed and dropped his head on his hand, ignoring Fury's look of amazement.

"People you trust," he repeated slowly. "What happened then to make you stupidly change your mind?"

The glare he threw at him made Clint shiver because of its intensity and the myriad of emotions behind it. He managed to identify sadness, hurt, fury (he got those completely), hate (to whom was the question), coldness (he didn't know what to think of this one), heartbreak (_they_ were to blame for this), guilt (wait, what? Why would he feel guilty?) and contentment (for what he didn't know). There were too many of them and it was too much. Tony shouldn't feel this way because of them. They were supposed to be his teammates, supposed to help him, encourage him, to be there for him and… What pitiful teammates they'd been.

"I don't even want to know. You're gonna make those weapons for SHIELD, for the Avengers, and I don't give a damn about what you think or want, Stark. Just do what we're asking of you." Fury straightened up, his face once again emotionless but anger still present judging from his tense shoulders.

Tony's eyes were now blazing with his rage and he stood up, trembling, fists still tightly clenched by his sides. "Fuck you, Fury." On those words he left the room, slamming the door behind him.

Utter silence fell. Fury was breathing heavily through his nose while all the Avengers were looking just plain miserable. "What happened?" The director asked, this time truly wanting to know.

Clint took a breath and said: "We made a mistake and blamed him for something he didn't do."

Fury raised an eyebrow. "He's reacting like a child because you…"

"He has every right to react this way," Bruce cut him off. "None of us blame him and we're trying to gain his trust back, director. But with all due respect, you have no right to ask anything of him, especially not something like this."

Fury turned to Bruce, who didn't back down – Clint couldn't help but smile: this was probably the Bruce Tony had expected to find three weeks ago, the one on his side. "And who do you think you are, telling me what I can and can't do?"

"Someone you don't want to anger." Short, direct and honest: point made – Clint silently whooped for him.

Fury growled under his breath. "Meeting dismissed." He turned on his heel and swiftly left the room.

"Do you… think we should try and find Tony?" The archer asked hesitantly after a moment of silence. Shoulders fell while they contemplated the question.

A month ago they would have argued over who will go, now – now they didn't even know if it was a good idea to go after him. _We really fucked up_, Clint thought. He wasn't even sure if they could gain Tony's _full_ trust back. It would take so much. Thor had managed to make a small step forward with his intervention against Fury two weeks ago, but since then? There's been no occasion for them to show Tony they had his back.

And now this. Seriously the world was against them!

"Maybe we should go – I mean, all of us." Clint bit his lip and shook his head.

"No. It will feel like we're going up against him, you know. Taking him up all five of us against only one of him? Bad idea. No. Just no."

"He's right," Bruce said. "And Thor, you can't go." The god opened his mouth to protest, but Bruce held up his hand. "He's probably gone to his lab. You there won't help at all since Tony doesn't like it when you're around too much of his fragile tech." Though looking a bit disgruntled, he nodded, understanding why. "Steve, it's probably best if…"

"Got it, don't worry. You should go Bruce. If Tony is in his lab and doesn't want to talk about it, you'll be the best to try and keep his mind on something else, you know."

Bruce nodded and stood up. "Wait. I'm coming with you." He threw him a look but Clint wasn't about to let it go. "I know you're great at all the science stuff, but don't forget that your friendship with Tony is still rocky right now. Mine is as well, I'm not pretending to be better off, but… Your science-y stuff and my humor? I'll say, win-win. It worked at the hospital."

Bruce smiled and nodded. The two of them looked at the others, wanting to know if they were okay with that and they all agreed. So the both of them stood up and left.

Direction the Stark Tower.

* * *

_Fucking, stupid, bastard, son of a bitch, I hate him_. Each word thought was accented by the slamming of the hammer Tony was using on a still hot piece of metal. He was focused on the poor lump he currently chose to use as a anger relief instead of turning it into a part of the hood of the prototype of the car he was building. But it didn't matter right now. All that mattered was that it was perfect – bang – to express – bang – his – bang – anger – bang – on – BANG! The sound that followed wasn't as good. He looked down at the cracked piece of metal and his shoulders fell. He'd been at it for the past five minutes, he figured it'd only been a matter of time before the manhandled metal broke – especially since it was still hot.

Tony dropped the hammer and the pliers he was holding the metal with, stepping back. He raised his hands to his head and rubbed them on his face, ignoring the way his breath shook slightly. He wasn't sure he could do it any longer. This – This was the last straw. To have Fury at his throat as well while he was still struggling with the Avengers – it was all too much.

He felt the edge of the glass desk on his legs and let his hands fell to his sides again. He hadn't realized he'd kept stepping back until he hit it. Shaky fingers grabbed the edge and he forced himself to breathe slowly. He had to get a grasp back on his emotions and his body – he couldn't let anyone see him like this. He hadn't cracked in three weeks, he wouldn't crack now. So what if they hadn't realized he didn't make weapons for them anymore? What if Fury knew he didn't trust his teammates? What if he was ordering him to do them anyway? Since when did all that matter?

_That's the thing, isn't it, Tony? It has always mattered_, he thought bitterly.

He hated himself for caring so much about little things like that. He couldn't believe Fury of all people managed to get to him. And how did they not realize he stopped improving their weapons? _Maybe they never realized I was doing it in the first place_, he reflected, glancing at his hands whose fingers were clenched around the glass. He registered suddenly there was still blood on them – from his nails digging into his palms during the meeting. He hadn't taken care of that when coming back here, just gone straight to the hammer to slam on something.

How successful this turned out to be. He should have gone to the gym and take one of Steve's punching bags. But no he wanted to do something useful at the same time he was taking his anger out – turns out he'd done the last part too well.

His grip tightened on the desk and he closed his eyes tightly. His breathing was heavy again and he _hated_ it. He knew they were trying so hard but it was… Pepper was starting to trust them again and he wanted to. So much. He was grateful for Thor backing him up and Bruce's constant help in the lab, even when he didn't get anything he was talking about because it wasn't his field of predilection, and Steve's breakfasts and Clint's light humor and movie nights and Natasha's careful care to stay in his line of sight all the time but…

He needed time for himself. That was it. He needed time away from them, with just Pepper, Jarvis and his robots and his inventions. No one trying to get his attention, no guilty expressions and sorry looks, no wary people around him.

He needed his _home_.

And the Tower just didn't feel like that anymore.

Tony ignored the single tear that ran down his cheek at that thought.

* * *

Bruce was about to enter his code to enter the shop when his eyes caught sight of Tony, slamming a hammer into metal repeatedly. He exchanged a look with Clint who nodded determinedly. The doctor sighed but pushed in the code. The door opened and they both stepped in.

Clint opened his mouth to call the genius when they heard the crack and saw the metal _break_ under the violence of Tony's last assault. They both froze, realizing maybe this was a bad idea – Tony had a hammer in his hand and was furious and… Shaking. He dropped everything and stepped back. His hands were on his face and he was still moving back. They could hear his labored breath from where they were in the silence of the lab, they could see how he was shaking. Clint frowned when he noticed the blood on the handle of the hammer and elbowed Bruce slightly to show it to him. The doctor frowned and glanced at the archer questioningly. He mimicked the gesture of digging his nails into his palms.

Tony was against his desk now, hands braced on the edge, breathing slowly. His eyes were glassy and he didn't seem to be aware of anything, lost in his thoughts. His shaking suddenly increased and his breathing started whistling. Bruce took a step forward, hand raised as if to reach for him, but he stopped, biting his lip. He wasn't sure that would accomplish anything. He felt Clint's hand on his shoulder and glanced at the man to see his guilty and conflicted expression. Tony's eyes shut tightly then as his hands clenched even more on the glass, leaving blood on it.

An even more violent shiver rocked Tony's body and then…

Bruce and Clint caught their breath.

A tear.

They didn't wait another second and left. They knew better. This was because of them. The Avengers, their trust, it was _their _doing.

When they reached the living room where the others were waiting, they still couldn't shake the image of Tony, gripping the desk tightly, eyes closed strongly, his breathing labored, his body shaking and the tear sliding down his cheek in silence. Steve looked up at them, hope in his eyes, but that didn't even touch them.

Clint shook his head. "We…" His voice was shaking and he forced himself to take a deep breath. "We didn't talk to him."

Natasha frowned and watched them closely, eyes calculating. "What happened?" Steve asked, confusion written all over his face.

"He was… It's best we leave him alone for a while."

Thor stepped forward, arms clasped on his chest, a frown on his face. "Is the Man of Iron alright?"

Bruce let out a shaky and humorless laugh. "No he's not. Not at all." He exchanged a glance with the archer. "I think… We think we just saw him break down."

* * *

**Heartbreaking, no? Please tell me what you think of it!**

**AngelShep**


	4. Trust me

**Salut! So my exams just finished and I decided to give you this little chapter. It's a bit different: there's action. Hope you will like it!**

**Thanks for all your reviews! I love them !**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Avengers, unfortunately :(**

* * *

_**Trust me**_

_You've got to be kidding me_, Tony couldn't help but thought when he saw the three humanoids creatures in the middle of the street he had just spun in.

Half an hour ago, Fury had called; there was an attack of unknown creatures in Dallas. He ordered the team to suit up and go, saying a quinjet was on its way to the Tower. Tony, as usual, had suited up and gone ahead to analyze the situation and get a report to the rest of the teams about what they were up against.

Unfortunately, Tony wasn't in a good mood that day. Fury had pissed him out of his mind the day before and he still hadn't completely calmed down and gained total control of his emotions again. Moreover, Pepper wouldn't be back until Friday, which meant he had to wait four whole days before he could talk to anyone about what he wanted to do, what he _needed_ to do. To top it off there was a stupid attack by freaking creatures Fury couldn't even describe, because eye witnesses didn't do their fucking job well, which meant he had to interact with the team when he just felt like locking himself up in his lab with music blaring in his ears, a bottle or two of his best scotch and his wonderful projects to work on.

He was starting to think someone hated him out there.

The moment he arrived in Dallas he flew to the place Fury had indicated. The quinjet was just leaving the Tower with all five of them and they wouldn't be there for the next twenty minutes. That meant he had to deal with it alone for now. First things first, find those creatures to see what they looked like. Second, find weaknesses. Third, kill. _Easy as pie_, he smirked, taking a sharp turn to his left. They were in this avenue according to witnesses.

He slammed head first in the first one.

He bounced back and crashed into a car that had been abandoned in the middle of the street. Groaning, red flashes feeling his visions, he sat up and looked up to see what had caused his fall.

There was nothing.

"Jarvis, heat sensors please, I have a bad feeling about this." Immediately his vision swam with blues and yellows and reds and there it stood. A humanoid form, with two legs and two arms, and what could only be a head on a chest. It was a few feet in front of him and seemed to be moving. Turning.

"_Fuck_." He had slammed into its back and it was now turning in his direction. No need to stay there any longer. Thrusters sparked to life and he flew higher, hoping he'll be out of reach. He needed to find a way to make it visible. The others wouldn't be able to do anything if they couldn't see it.

"Stark, you copy?" Rogers' voice sounded in his ear. Great, time to tell them the wonderful discovery he made.

Which made him think. How did the witnesses see it in the first place? He frowned and turned back to his natural vision, flying over where he knew the creature was. They were on the floor when they saw them obviously. He flew down and stopped the thrusters to stand on the sidewalks. He looked up, moving sideways, trying to find any…

He smirked. A small default really but his eyes were used to looking for the smallest detail in the biggest machinery. So what seemed to be a flickering flying metal conception of about an inch long? It was all too easy.

He raised his arm. "Tony? Tony! Dammit Stark!" Clint's voice was on edge, borderline panicking. Tony rolled his eyes and chose to make them squirm a little bit more. Just enough to see if this would work. It couldn't hurt them. He aimed carefully and fired his beam.

The screech the thing let out was enough to make him wince and raise his hands to cover his ears – realizing too late how useless the gesture was. But what he wanted happened. Colors moved along the body, flickering before resting on what the genius assumed to be its natural color. The freaking things were like chameleons, completely disappearing in their environments.

He watched amazed and horrified the creature. If its form was that of a human in its shape, it wasn't one at all. Instead of fingers he had grey claws about the size of his legs, looking too sharp for his liking. The arms were covered with thick dark green scales and were about twice as big as him. Its torso was covered by a dark grey fur which stopped suddenly at its shoulders, neck and top of its legs. Those were covered with the same scales as its arms and its feet were prolonged by four two-feet long claws. On its back here was a strange mix between scales and fur except in one small place – where he had hit it. Probably one of its only weaknesses.

But what made him catch his breath in drowning horror was its face. It was some kind of bared red skin, strips of flesh seeming to fall from it, a green liquid dripping from them. It had empty eyes, just big white balls with red vessels crossing them. Its nose consisted in two holes on some sort of gross bulge. And his mouth was some big hole, with what seemed like six yellow one-foot long fangs, without any lips. It was drooling a thick yellow dribble on its torso and chin.

His empty stomach threatened to raise to his lips. He didn't know who had created that thing but, _oh God_, that person was crazy. He got the whole invisible thing perfectly: the poor creature must be afraid of its own reflection. Seriously. It was disgusting.

"Stark!" The scream Bruce let out, frantic, frightened, panicked, brought him back to earth.

But then the raging yell the creature let out managed to drag his attention back to it and he gulped. Sightless eyes were on him, the monster leaning towards him, hands stretching to him. "Crap."

He kicked in action his thrusters and flew away, thanking every god he knew that he was too fast for the thing to catch him. "We have a fucking problem," he finally said, activating the communication. He flipped back on his heat vision and almost rammed head on into another creature. He swung to the side and avoided it to go higher and higher until he could watch the city from above.

"Stark what's going on?" That was Steve. His voice was calm and yet he could hear the worry in it.

But that wasn't what captivated his attention right now. No, it was the sight in front of him. In between buildings, masses of red humanoid bodies were moving in front of his eyes. He counted fifteen of those and he started feeling sick. What kind of person was the creator of those monstrosities? He turned around slowly, expecting to find more of them, only to end up sighing in relief. He could see only two more. Seventeen.

It was seventeen too many.

"Man of Iron, are you still with us?"

"Yeah," he breathed out. His brain was already calculating possibilities, probabilities, formulating plans while looking over the city, noticing how those creatures didn't seem to be heading towards the most populated area. They were staying where they were, turning in circles. _Do they even have brains?_ He wondered distractedly. Why were they moving like that? What was even the point of that attack?

"Stark?" That was Natasha this time. Okay he needed to focus, really _now_. It was getting ridiculous if they kept saying his name while he didn't say anything when he should be. But hey, he was trying to figure out how to take down those things and he was the only one who would do it because he was the only one who'd seen them and… _Let's face it, I do the best plans_, he complimented himself with a smirk. "Stark!" _Oh right, focus_. He had to work on that.

"Yeah, yeah, there's seventeen of those. They're not pretty and they're invisible." It didn't sound as good as it did in his head. Oh well.

A snort – Clint, his mind supplied. "That's kinda contradictory, Tony."

He rolled his eyes and flew over the streets, looking lazily around, forming his plan. "There's a weakness – found it and used it – makes them visible." He didn't care much about detailing how he turned things that shouldn't exist because they were way too ugly and horrible into _visible_ ones. If he knew what they had looked like, he wouldn't have done it.

"Where is it?" Natasha, always so down to business. He could picture her checking her guns, eyebrows set in a thin line, face emotionless. No fun whatsoever.

"Its back. An inch long, piece of metal floating in the air." He narrowed his eyes when he noticed something wrong – or better something wonderfully great only a genius like him could find it. "Jarvis, check signals around the area – all types."

"You have something?" Bruce. Breathing slowly and calmly, relaxing while checking he had a set change of clothes in the quinjet. There was no need for the Hulk to get out too early. Tony checked how long he had until they got there. Ten minutes. He needed to do something about the speed of the quinjets, it was way too ridiculously slow.

"Maybe. You all have good sight? – shut up Clint."

He pictured them all – Clint smirking, Bruce rolling his eyes because it didn't matter whether he had good eyes or not when he was the Hulk. Thor would be frowning, while clenching and unclenching his fingers around Mjolnir, his mind getting ready for the battle ahead. Steve would be stapling his boots on and pulling on his gloves, thinking fast to find the plan that will make everyone on the team stay safe and protect the innocents. Natasha would be narrowing her eyes, glaring at empty air wishing it was him because he'd asked something stupid. "Tony, what do we need to know?" Steve asked, sighing.

_You should be used to it by now, Cap_, he thought, almost saying it, before thinking better of it. "I don't know if it's just some kind of invisible/visible switch or if it does something else. Second it'll be…" Something threw him off and he quickly started the thrusters again, swaying for a bit. There was something… Something hit his leg. A warning flashed on his screen. "Burning? What…"

He looked down at his leg and saw it fuming at his calf, as if acid had… He looked down and saw one of the creatures standing to its tallest, head up. The _drool_…

"Tony?" He flew higher, hoping it would be enough not to get hit again by that stupid spit of theirs. He needed to think fast.

There was no way he was letting any of his teammates near those. He was lucky the acid hadn't burned through the metal but the others wouldn't be so lucky. "Change of plans. _You_ stay away from here."

"What? Stark, we're not letting you fight those things alone. We're a team!" Steve started.

_No need for your lecture, Cap_. "They can spit acid, Cap. Is your flesh suddenly so wonderful it will not burn?" He asked, ironically. That shut him up. _Good_, he thought vaguely while trying to find a new plan where he wouldn't need the others' help.

"Get out of there Tony," Bruce said, worry filling his voice.

"I'm fine. I may… Okay I'm working on it, but it's on the way."

"Sir there is a signal ten feet on your right. It seemed to be on the same frequency as the one these creatures are connected to." He loved Jarvis and how he didn't even need to tell him what he was thinking for the AI to know exactly where he was going. "It is moving, Sir."

"Tony, just go away, Natasha is contacting SHIELD, they're gonna send a team better equipped," Steve ordered.

Tony frowned at the message on his screens. Something was wrong. "Jarvis pull up the sewerage system circuit." The map flashed with the signal on it. It wasn't following the lines… His vision turned back to normal. "Five feet… Damn it!" He twisted, turning around to see a two feet wide robot heading towards him.

He flew out of the way and it continued in the direction of the city center. Tony's eyes flew to the creatures – Jarvis pulling the heat sensors automatically (gotta love the man) – and watched fascinated as they seemed to follow it. _Now_ they were moving. Fast. Too fast.

He knew what he had to do at least now.

"Tony!" The yell in his ear made him wince.

"What?" He snapped. Couldn't they leave him thinking and planning in peace?

"What's going on?" That was Clint.

"I have a plan. They're following a stupid signal. Gonna blow it up and hopefully it'll be enough."

"Hopefully? Tony, you're…" Steve finished his speech with a groan, anger slipping through easily while Tony sped up after the robot, not changing his vision back to normal. The DASC (Decaying Acid Spitting Chameleons, thought it was appropriate) were a bigger threat and he didn't want a repeat of the last two encounters. "Stark, it's an order, you _come_ back here _now_."

"I'm not… Didn't you get it yet? I'm not following stupid orders."

Suddenly all the team started speaking protesting and he sighed as he turned into a smaller street to avoid the two creatures blocking the one he was on. They were starting to grate on his nerves. His day had started badly enough, he didn't need the team screaming at him for wanting to stop a threat.

"I have a plan, guys, _trust me_, I know what I'm doing." He didn't know what happened but suddenly, it seemed like all protests died on their tongues. Utter silence reached his ears. He frowned, wondering what he'd said to gain this. He took a sharp spin and entered an avenue, following the signal which seemed to lead him there.

He almost slammed into three DASC and quickly changed directions, flying upwards, skimming near one of them. _You've got to be kidding me_, he thought bitterly as he reached an altitude he dubbed safe enough. They still hadn't answered and he was starting to get more and more annoyed by the second. Two full minutes of silence were really too much.

He looked at the map and saw he was two streets away. He needed to get a move on, four blocks left until they were in the downtown. "Guys, whenever you feel like it, you can answer." He flew over a building and reached the right street. Okay. Fifteen feet on his left. He turned and wildly spun on the side when a claw almost nailed him. He sped under the arm and avoided another one narrowly. It was harder than he thought it'd be. Six feet in front of him. _Good, you're done, Mister Master DASC_.

"Do what you can." Steve's voice and words threw him off completely and he hit the shoulder of the creature in front of him with his arm. It sent him spiraling down and crashing in the ground. He grunted, wincing as his limbs extracted themselves out of the ground. This would leave bruises for sure. "Tony?" He groaned again. He was blaming this one on them. Since when did they start being so accepting of his non-explained plans?

That's when it hit him. He said 'trust me'. He didn't think much about it, because it wasn't the first time he said it when he was trying to make a point on a mission but it was the first time since the Incident. _Great, I was thrown off because they decided they couldn't say no to me anymore when I say two stupid words_. But he couldn't help but feel grateful for that. They were willing to trust him on this when they had no idea what was going on. It warmed him and at the same time made him scowl. Why they couldn't do that before was beyond him.

A noise above him made him raise his head, catching his attention immediately. His eyes widened when he saw the foot hovering over him, coming down… His thrusters started and he twisted out of under it, speeding not to get touched by one of the claws. He needed to take these things out _now_. "Jarvis?"

"Two streets down, it's one street away from the city centre, you might want to hurry up, Sir." Jarvis' no non-sense voice and tone made him smile and he pushed his thrusters into full speed. He was right, he needed to hurry the fuck up.

"Tony?" Bruce's concerned voice floated to him as he sped fast next to a DASC (he loved that name as much as he hated the things).

"I'm fine, just got balanced off by your _yes_." Couldn't hurt being honest, right?

A long sigh followed and he wondered who made it. Steve? Bruce? Clint? He turned into a boulevard and finally saw the robot. He flew on it and hung on it with one hand. He flipped back to natural vision and looked over the smooth metal surface. He didn't want to do something that would send the wrong signal to the monstrosities – destroying their shepherd for example.

"Tony," Steve started.

"Shh! Genius in action here, shut the hell up and admire." He smirked when he found a plate he raised up. Machinery, _this_ he knew. He analyzed every circuit, every wire he could see and made a face. Whoever did it was good but really it was too easy, not worthy of him at all. He sighed and slipped his hand inside the robot, reaching for the one wire that would shut the signal down. He gripped, squeezed and pulled.

And then he was falling. "Shit!" He ripped his arm out of the robot and flew away from it. No way was it going to take him down with it. He breathed a sigh of relief and looked around, seeing the empty streets. A crash sounded and he knew the robot had touched the ground. "You still there, guys?"

"Yeah," Clint answered. "Are they gone?" Oops, he forgot about the DASC. He flipped into heat vision and looked around. The things were completely still as if he had switched an off button.

"Sort of. They're not moving anymore. And they're still playing C-mode." He flew to the nearest one and searched for the 'visible' button as well, the fingers of his right hand twitching as he powered his repulsor.

"C-mode?" Thor wondered.

"Chameleon. They're invisible," he translated, before aiming at the piece of metal. He fired and hit perfectly as he always did. Slowly, colors came back on the hideous DASC which in turn stayed unmoving. He grinned, feeling happy with himself and went to the next one, repeating the operation.

If SHIELD wanted to take them off, they needed to be able to see them. And well, he wanted to see Fury's face when he would catch sight of those things.

When he was done, Clint telling him they were waiting at the edge of the city for the SHIELD unit, he went back to the robot, wanting to examine something he had noticed when he was holding onto it. He landed next to it and kneeled down near the remains and searched for what he'd seen…

There it was. He grabbed the piece of metal, wondering how it could still be intact so much that the whole inscription could be read completely. _Hello Stark_. He inhaled sharply and making sure no one was around he destroyed the words, wrecking the metal completely. Well this made one thing clear.

Someone was after him.

* * *

_**So? **_**What do you think? **

**Merci d'avoir lu!**

**AngelShep**


	5. A Time For Talking

**Coucou! Here's a whole new chapter. I'd like to thank everyone for reading and reviewing this fic, it means a lot. I can also tell you that things are going to go downhill before they actually start to look up.**

**And finally: there is going to be whump!Tony in a few chapters! Happy? J'espère!**

**Disclaimer: Even if I'll gladly enjoy a Captain America, Thor, Clint, Bruce or would completely love a Tony Stark, they're not mine. Sadly.**

* * *

_**A Time For Talking**_

Natasha hovered outside the lab, eyes on the figure inside, working on what looked like a car from what she could tell. He didn't seem bad, but then she didn't know what she expected. Did she expect him to be a mess, incapable of even working? Did she expect him to be starved, sick, completely disheveled ? Well for the last point, it could work but that was his natural look every time he was working in his lab. There was grease and oil on his worn-out t-shirt and his old jeans which harbored some holes. He had black traces on his face and arms but other than that, he looked good. He wasn't pale, he didn't seem starved and he wasn't tired by the lack of bags under his eyes.

But she knew better. She had seen him when he was dying and he had managed to hide it pretty well when around other people – technically he didn't know she was there so it wasn't like he was hiding from her but that's beside the point. Unfortunately that didn't mean it was making it any easier for her to enter the lab and talk to him.

They had let him a whole week (not counting the attack and the debriefing). She knew she wasn't supposed to be here because they wanted to give him more time but she felt the need to talk to him. She didn't know why, she couldn't explain it, she just knew she _had to_.

She knew very well Tony wasn't a big fan of hers. He had taken more time to trust her than the others (except maybe Steve but that was another story). She liked Tony even if sometimes she was exasperated by his constant talking – she missed it now, something she never thought would happen. He was generous with them, letting them have everything they needed, and despite the fact that he complained about everything that took away his time, she knew he didn't mind all that much. He managed somehow to always make everyone smile, always having a good word to say at the worst of times. With their "profession", it was great really to have some stress relief.

And well Tony was the one who really brought them together. He had pulled Bruce into the tower thanks to his labs, Clint and her through the idea of a safe and constant roof over their heads, Steve through the idea of forming a real team and Thor simply followed because everyone else was already here. He had all the accommodations they needed and provided them all what they didn't have in a long time: a roof over their head, a place they could call home, and most of all, a family.

She and the others had destroyed that family. They had destroyed the one thing they were so happy to have. Sure it was dysfunctional but it was still more than what they had for most their lives. That's why they wanted to fix this. Because they had become family and in families people didn't do this to each other – at least in families you chose.

She pushed into her code and opened the door, taking a deep breath. This was going to be hard.

Tony looked up when he heard the door open and stopped what he was doing. She saw the dark and cautious look in his brown eyes, usually so opened and friendly and cheerful. They had lost the spark that they had all grown to love, the spark that made him so unique with his constant enthusiasm and his childish curiosity in everything new and scientific, with his formidable mind that continuously jump from one thing to another, making even Bruce unable to follow him sometimes. This was _their_ Tony, the one they'd lost with their sheer stupidity.

"Hey," she said, feeling a bit stupid but they had to start somewhere, right?

"Hey, I guess, to you too." He straightened and grabbed a nearby rag which was already dirty enough that it probably didn't help him clean his hands at all. "Is there something wrong?"

She moved towards him a bit, but stayed a few feet away, not wanting to make him feel crowded or uncomfortable. "No, no, nothing's wrong. I just… wanted to talk."

He raised an eyebrow but shrugged. "Talk about what?"

She bit her lip lightly and looked away, glancing at the display of screens and equations around the room. There was the model of a car near him, with an exploded view of the different pieces of the coachwork. It didn't look like anything she had ever seen and she wondered if he was doing it from scratch.

"It's a prototype," his voice suddenly brought her attention to him. "I thought that, you know, if I was doing the whole green energy thing I had to try this."

Natasha smiled because really it didn't surprise her at all. "You think it'll work?"

"Well, I'm still at the 'building the car' part so I don't know yet if it will roll. Hope so." He glanced at the model. "Pretty awesome, right?"

Natasha tilted her head and crossed her arms. "Wouldn't mind having one to myself, that's for sure," she said playfully. He smiled a bit and put his rag down. "When will it be ready for launch?"

"A month. I have to show it to the board in two. I'm giving myself some time to modify it if the need arises." She nodded and watched him move behind a desk, making sure she was in his line of sight all the time. She had no right to feel hurt about the fact he needed to put something as ridiculous as a desk between them. She deserved it. "So what did you want to talk to me about?"

She looked up at him and saw him purse his lips, looking a bit hesitant, but at the same time, she knew it was more than she expected. And she had to do this. "I… I want to apologize."

He sighed and averted her eyes. "You already did."

"I have something else to apologize for." He raised an eyebrow in surprise. "This last thing was a collective thing. I never apologized for my fooling you as Natalie Rushman."

His eyes hardened and she saw his grip tighten on the desk but she made no comment. She knew this would be hard. She had chosen it. "It's in the past," he whispered.

"Maybe. But I still want to. When I did that mission, I thought I'd never see you again. There was no point in apologizing and trying to get back into… your good books, so to speak. But then the Avengers happened." His eyes were watching her closely as she spoke, never moving forward, leaving the distance he had made between them the same – it felt safe for him so she would oblige. She knew Tony was good at reading people. She may have fooled him once but that was because he didn't know her and hadn't had the time to see her enough to _look_. Now it was another story entirely.

He would see it right away if there was something off about her or if she wasn't sincere. But it didn't matter, because she _was_.

"I thought once again we would go our separate ways. But you changed everything when you offered us a home." He flinched a little at this word and she couldn't help but wonder why. But it was something to think about later so she stored it in a corner of her brain, promising herself she would speak about it with the others. "And in the end, I never apologized for fooling you the way I did. I never thought twice about it because it never came up and… and you ended up trusting me," she finished, whispering the last part, looking down.

"I…" Her eyes raised up and she saw him fidgeting with a pen, gently balancing himself on his feet, brown eyes more vulnerable than she had ever seen them. She hated that they were to blame for this. "I guess I just… You know… forgave you somehow."

"And I'm grateful for this Tony. I really am." God, she hated being this… _emotional_, but she was willing to go through it if it meant getting a little bit of Tony back. "But that doesn't make it right. So I'm sorry. I'm deeply sorry for going undercover in your company, tricking you and I'm sorry for the report." He frowned then and looked up at her. "I was wrong. _You_, Tony Stark, deserve to be on this team."

He opened his mouth to say something but no sound came out of it. He looked so shocked and open and vulnerable and _happy_ to hear this that Natasha immediately knew she had done the right thing. She also got why Bruce and Clint said that Tony might react in a non-Tony kind of way: she could see his eyes water before he blinked the tears away. He inhaled deeply and avoided looking at her. Acquiescing, he let out his breath again and a slight smile stretched his lips. "Thank you."

She smiled and nodded. "I'll leave you to your car. Oh and if you need a pilot… I wouldn't mind going for a drive in the first Stark car ever."

She turned around and walked to the door, hearing him chuckle a bit.

Never before had she felt so proud and happy of herself. She'd done something right.

* * *

When Pepper entered the living room, she had the surprise of seeing all the team (sans Tony) looking deep in thought, scattered around the coffee table. Only Steve looked up and his eyes widened. He jumped to his feet and rushed to her before she could so much as utter a word or attempt a move out of the room. "Miss Potts, we need your guidance and help."

"You need what?" The rest of them looked up, all with slightly hopeful expressions. Her eyes widened and she opened her mouth ready to ask again or feign an excuse – the last one might be best for her sanity.

"It's Tony. We… We're at a lost on what to do." She turned her attention back to Steve, eyebrows furrowed. He looked crushed and was offering her the big wide hopeful blue eyes. She knew the team was taking the whole thing pretty bad but she didn't expect them to be so… downright broken by it.

She couldn't say she had helped at all. She had tried her best to be there for Tony because he needed her more than ever. She was the only one he had left that was easily within reach – Rhodey was still somewhere in Middle East – and he needed her support. Not that she wouldn't have given it to him. She could hardly still believe what they had done. She wasn't angry anymore, perhaps still resentful but she was getting back there. Unfortunately she had no idea what had happened on the past week because she had been in Europe to promote the latest SI projects. From what she could gather she had missed something big – and she hadn't seen Tony yet. _Oh God what state am I going to find him in?_

"What happened?" She asked, worry filling her. What if he had done something reckless in his lab? What if… Wait his lab. Her eyes widened. If he was in his private shop where none of them could enter… A whole week and… Jarvis… if overruled… "Oh God he's in his shop right? He hasn't left it since I left?" Her voice was going higher and higher but she didn't care. She was in hysterics, imagining the worst possible case scenarios and… Why was she still there? She needed to see him.

She turned on her heel, but a hand on her arm stopped her abruptly. She rose an eyebrow, daring Steve to keep his hold on her. "He did, he ate, he slept, he's good on that."

She may have reacted too quickly and a bit rashly, she could admit it, but she had learned a long time ago it was never enough when it came to Tony Stark. "Then what happened?" She repeated a bit forcefully. Why couldn't they just give her the answers she wanted?

"He… Fury kind of worsened the situation by trying… by pushing him into making…" Steve made a face. "Making weapons."

She widened her eyes and gaped at him. "He said no of course, but he also said he wasn't making weapons for us anymore," Clint continued. Pepper didn't say anything because she knew that. She had been there when he told Jarvis to put all his projects concerning the Avengers away for… an undetermined length of time.

"Fury got angry and asked him why." Pepper turned her eyes to Bruce who smiled sadly.

"He doesn't make weapons for people he doesn't trust," she whispered. Of course. Only something like this would make it take a turn for the worse.

"Pepper," Bruce called her, voice urgent and filled with worry, "after that Clint and I found him in his lab and he… he broke down."

"He… Well it wasn't a full-out cry, but he did cry." She raised her hand to her mouth and knew her eyes were filling with tears. No, no, no, no. It couldn't be that bad.

Natasha stepped forward, pushing Steve gently to the side. She put her hands on Pepper's shoulders and met her blue eyes with her green ones. "I went to talk to him this morning. He… He was on the verge of crying and he… He flinched at the word '_home_'."

"Oh God, I need to sit down," Pepper let out in a shaky voice behind her hand. Natasha guided her to the couch and sat down next to her. All the men were looking at them, wondering what they should do. But they all knew the co-CEO had understood what was going on with Tony. Her reaction said it all after all.

"Pepper… What does it mean?"

She glanced at Natasha and took a deep breath. "He must… He must not feel at home here anymore." Her voice broke at the end and she buried her face in her hands. Natasha put an arm around her shoulders and brought her closer, exchanging a glance with the others.

They couldn't have done this, could they? Did their… mistrust and betrayal had driven Tony into feeling his very own house wasn't his _home_ anymore? The one he built himself with her? She couldn't believe this had happened. She needed to see him now, to be with him, to know what he was feeling, thinking.

If he wanted to stay here.

"I'm sorry I…" She stood up and brushed her tears away. She straightened her shirt and blouse, smoothed out the creases on her skirt and walked out of the room. No one tried to stop her this time.

She had managed to regain her composure by the time she got to the lab. The door opened automatically and she knew she had Jarvis to thank for that. He must be as worried about his creator as she was. She walked to the prototype of the car she could see, knowing he would be around it since it occupied all his time lately. She moved around the car, seeing it had most of its body on already, and stopped when Tony appeared, kneeling in front of a tire and working on the metal around it. "Tony?" She called.

He looked up at her and smiled. "Hey, you're back."

He stood up and hugged her tightly. She breathed him in, smelling grease, his cologne and his own unique smell, one she couldn't describe no matter how much she wanted to – she had missed it. "I'm back," she confirmed. She disentangled herself from his arms to be able to look at him. He didn't look that bad. Maybe they were overreacting. "I missed you."

"And I you." He took her face between his hands and kissed her softly. "How was Europe?"

"Good. I talked about the Green Car and they're excited too. What about you? What did I miss?" She hooked her fingers to the collar of his t-shirt and started playing with the hem without thinking. It was an habit she had taken a few months ago every time he would hold her like that. His arms around her waist, her fingers playing with his collar, looking at each other in the eyes.

He sighed and tightened his grip on her. "I let Fury get to me stupidly. And Natasha apologized. Can you believe that? She _apologized_. I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming." She smiled slightly. They had overreacted.

"You're sure you weren't hallucinating from lack of sleep or food?" She teased.

"Hey!" He protested. "I'll have you know I ate Chinese at lunch." He stuck his chin up proudly.

"Mmh." She smiled and put her hands behind his neck, her fingers caressing the skin there lightly. "Good boy." They didn't know him as well as she did. What they took for a break down was just his usual _Tony Stark, genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist_, mask failing him for a moment.

"I know," he stated smugly. "What would you say if I tell you I wanna go on a little vacation?"

Her eyebrows rose. "A vacation?"

"Yeah. Just the two of us. A few days. Somewhere nice." He grinned at her, hoping she would say yes.

It was tempting really. She wouldn't be against some time with Tony – no work, no Avengers. And it could do some good to him as well. The Avengers could use it too, getting some time to think without feeling guilty every time they would see the genius.

"What about the car?"

"I'm almost done and I still have two whole months."

"Work?"

"They're waiting for the prototype, if there's something really urgent they can contact us. I'm not saying we'll be out of range completely, just… Somewhere else, away from here." Away from them, Pepper heard.

"Okay. Okay."

"Really?" His hopeful and surprised look made her smile. She pulled him to her and kissed him more strongly than before, lips moving in sync with his. Her fingers clenched his hair and his hands moved to the hem of her shirt, sliding under it and caressing her skin. She shivered and pulled away.

"Where are we going?"

"Home," he whispered. "Malibu."

Well she had been right about one thing at least. New York didn't feel like home to him anymore. But he was good. He may not trust his team anymore but that didn't mean he wasn't _fine_.

She smiled, feeling lighter than ever. "I'm calling a few people to tell them we're on vacation. Make your bag." He grinned and kissed her cheek before turning around.

He clapped. "Jarvis, log all current projects, transfer the basics to Malibu – could be useful if there's a call." He added when he saw her raised eyebrows. She nodded and left the room, not listening to his ramblings anymore.

She went back to the living room, figuring they had to know and well, to reassure them as well – they didn't break Tony.

They were still sitting down on the couches, looking so guilty and remorseful that Pepper wondered if telling them Tony wanted to leave for a few days was a good idea. Unfortunately she knew it had to be done, otherwise the situation would only get worse when they would discover Tony wasn't there anymore and hadn't told them he left.

She cleared her throat and they turned to her, standing up suddenly. She held back a smile at this and licked her lips. "He's fine. You worried me for nothing."

They exchanged a glance. Clint stepped forward, frowning. "But we saw him _cry_ and he was shaking and…"

"And you saw Tony. It wasn't Tony Stark then, he was _Tony_. He didn't break down or anything."

"I don't understand," Thor said.

She sighed and ran a hand through her hair, thinking about how she could explain without Tony being upset she told them something too personal. "Tony has a mask. A mask he perfected so well you don't even realize he's always wearing one. What you saw was that mask falling and letting Tony out for a short time." She bit her lip when she saw the confused look Thor was still wearing. "It's like the suit. Iron Man protects Tony Stark and Tony Stark protects Tony."

"So he's good?" Bruce asked, a smile tugging at his lips.

"Yes. But that doesn't mean I wasn't right on one point." They frowned and she saw their wary and sad expression. They already knew they wouldn't like what she was about to say. She wouldn't spare them no matter what though, they brought this on themselves when they didn't trust Tony enough. "We're going for a few days. Tony wants a vacation. We're going back… home." She finished, voice soft, eyes understanding. _Great going Pepper, what happened to not going easy on them?_ She reprimanded herself.

Their defeated posture and crushed expression tore her heart, but she remained strong. Tony was more important to her than they were. "He's not feeling at home here anymore?" Clint enquired sadly.

"He needs time to find himself again. He can't forgive you and trust you again if he can't get back to who he was." Pepper hoped they understood. "He won't be out of contact, you can still call us. Natasha knows where the house is in Malibu."

Natasha nodded. "When are you leaving?"

"Tony's gone to make our bags. We're leaving today." Pepper smiled at them. "It'll do you some good too you know. To think about it without having to feel guilty every time you see Tony."

On those words, she offered them one last smile before leaving the room. She did have a few phone calls to make.

* * *

**And they're separating... What do you think it's gonna happen? Did you like it? What about Natasha? I hope she wasn't too OOC, it was hard trying to find the good balance between the usually stoic Natasha and this one who had to deal with feelings. **

**Tell me all!**

**AngelShep**


	6. Time Out

**Salut tout le monde! I'm back with a new chapter. It's a light-hearted one, really and well things are going to go bad in a couple of chapters, so enjoy this one! **

**For those who wondered if Rhodey was going to be there: the answer is yes, but I won't give any more clues about that. But don't hesitate to give your thoughts about it, I'm willing to listen! ;)**

**I don't think I have more to say, so enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: The Avengers are property of Marvel, I am simply borrowing the characters. **

* * *

_**Time out**_

It was silent. One hundred percent silent. And yet it was overwhelming.

They had never appreciated more the loud, constant, obnoxious chatter of Tony than at right this instant. The silence reminded them he wasn't here. The silence was deafening somehow and it made them feel more guilt than they thought possible. For it was silent because of them.

They were all sitting around the isle of the commune kitchen. Empty plates were in front of them, crumbs and pieces of their meal left on the porcelain. They were all looking at the empty place next to Bruce (empty pla_ces_ – Pepper wasn't here either). Steve had almost accidentally put a plate there when Bruce was making some _curry_ with rice. He had frozen when he was in front of the chair, ready to put the plate down. He had smiled at Bruce sheepishly before putting the plate back in its cupboard.

It wasn't lost on any of them that what had never been a habit before the whole fiasco was now one.

Tony rarely ate with them. It was a simple fact; the sun was yellow, the sky was blue, rain was water, snow was white, Tony Stark doesn't eat with them. That kind of fact. If you wanted him to eat something you had to A) drag him out of his lab by his arm (or ear if you're one particular redheaded female spy) or B) bring him a plate of food (or two if you're a generous papa bear of a soldier). Yet when Tony stopped trusting them they tried to make him feel how important he was to this team, making him come to meals – insisting until he reluctantly came with them (the complains during the meal were worth it because it meant _he_ was with _them_). They would get him to watch movies with them, even if he stayed in an armchair alone, playing with his phone or pad. He was with them.

And suddenly he wasn't there anymore. The place he had taken was back to being empty.

"Should we call them?" Suddenly asked Clint.

They all turned to look at him. "They left _yesterday_. I don't think calling them would look good. We're supposed to give him time away from us. Harassing him won't make it better," Bruce answered wisely. Clint's shoulders fell but he nodded. They all wanted the same thing: for Tony to trust them again, even if it meant waiting and giving Tony the time he needed. It didn't mean they had to like it though, but they couldn't complain.

Natasha slammed her hand on the table and they jumped, not expecting it. They turned surprised glances at her and raised their eyebrows, questioning. "We have a life outside of Stark. Let's not think about it for the few days he's away. It's as much a vacation for him as it is for us," she declared, eyes hard and voice tight. If they didn't know her better, they would think she didn't care at all about the genius. But they knew her. She was putting on a brave and solid façade for the rest of them, proving she was still Natasha Romanoff, even if Tony wasn't there anymore. She wanted them to do the same: go back to being their old selves without the burden of the knowledge that they had failed their friend.

Clint agreed immediately. "True. Tony will come back, we can worry about him then." He straightened on his chair, his usual mischievous spark and hard gaze back in his eyes.

Steve sighed. "Very well. What do we do then?" He raised his head a bit, blue eyes narrowing as they took in everyone, looking them over; his presence made itself known without him even trying, just as the soldier and leader he was.

The archer grinned. "We could go take a walk around the city. Have some fun." Thor looked up then and leaned forward, putting his hands flat on the table, around his plate.

"I heard a fair arrived two days ago, we could show it to Thor," Natasha suggested, with a slight movement of her head to push her red locks away from her face, eyebrow imperceptibly rising.

Steve smiled a little nostalgically. "It's been a long time since I was in a fair."

Bruce put a hand on his shoulder: "Believe me, it's not the same as they used to be. But at the same time, it hasn't change that much." He smiled at him and with his free hand pushed his glasses higher on his nose. Steve patted the hand on his shoulder and nodded, thanking him silently for the support he was offering.

Thor stood up and with his booming voice and a grin on his face, exclaimed: "To this fair we go!"

* * *

Tony hadn't felt so relaxed in a long time. He hadn't realized how much he needed some time out before he actually got it. He was more tired than he thought and his brain suddenly felt lighter now that it didn't have to work on a dozen of projects or so. He could focus again and his emotions weren't all over the place anymore. He couldn't see any downside right now to this three-day vacation in Malibu. He even forgot how nice it was to have such a mild weather in December.

He wasn't sure at first about this because he knew it would make the others feel worse. They were already feeling bad enough about the whole thing, Tony didn't want to add anything to their guilt. Sure he had been angry and resentful, but he wasn't heartless. No matter how many say or think so.

Trust was just a touchy subject for him. He learned a long time ago – at a much too early age – you couldn't trust people. Not when you were the son of a multi-billionaire business man. What followed his childhood was more and more untrustworthy people and Obadiah had been the last straw. But it never meant he couldn't overcome his fears (though he would deny them) and trust people. They just had to prove to him he could trust them. They had to be worth it, he had to know they wouldn't backstab him later on. Trust wasn't something he gave, it was something _earned_ to him.

It had started so well.

Bruce had moved in immediately after the attack. He had been hesitant and stated he would just stay a few days before leaving. Then days turned into weeks. He couldn't leave in the middle of a project. Every time he would make the decision to say goodbye, Tony managed to change his mind. They would have dinners and lunches together. Just the three of them. It was great. He had someone to work with, someone who could actually understand what he was saying most of the time and follow him. And Pepper was happy knowing there was someone to drag him out of the lab, to make sure he didn't forget to eat and sleep when she couldn't be around. It had been so easy, maybe too easy even. He didn't know when he really started trusting Bruce, but he did. And not just Bruce, but the Hulk as well.

Clint had been next. One day he had called and asking if he could crash there because he needed a place to stay that wasn't a SHIELD base. In the end, he never left. Tony and him had quickly bonded over pranks and a humor so similar it was inevitable. It was too easy as well. But he believed he wouldn't hurt him either. Even if he was from SHIELD. Clint had told them once that he didn't feel good there anymore, with the judging stares of the agents. They didn't understand he had been under Loki's spell when he attacked the Helicarrier. Tony, Bruce and Pepper got that. They didn't blame him. They didn't care about it. And it made Clint feel safe and at peace somewhere. Tony was just happy knowing he had offered him a home.

And then they were all there. Natasha, Steve and Thor had come and they ended trusting each other, becoming friends and some kind of dysfunctional family. It had taken them four months but they did it. And two months later, everything had shattered because of a stupid attack by Doom bots. One would have thought if something was to destroy the team, it would be bigger than a few bots. But no. One robot who had aimed well had been enough.

Now a little over a month later, he was finally relaxing again.

"You alright?" Pepper's voice brought him back to the moment at hand.

Pepper had insisted on taking a walk on the beach, having missed the weather there. So there they were, walking hand in hand, jeans rolled up to their knees, bare feet in the water, waves gently lapping at their calves. It was nice. There were just the two of them, the sun setting over the ocean, coloring the sky orange and purple while the water turned a dark blue with streaks of red and black.

"Yeah, I am. Better than I've been in a while."

She smiled gently and put her hand on his arm, leaning against him. "It's nice. We should do this more often you know. Just relaxing like that."

He made a sound of agreement and they fell silent again, just bathing in the other's presence. She was right. They didn't do this kind of thing a lot these days. Sure they still had dinner together, they still talked and spent time together but it didn't have the same feeling as this did.

Which may be the reason why he blurted out: "I love you."

They both froze. Tony took a step back, eyes wide, processing what he just said. Pepper looked up at him, mouth agape, round blue eyes filled with disbelief. _Oh God, why did I say that? What… Stupid mouth!_ He was talking to himself now, just great.

The silence stretched as Pepper opened and closed her mouth, trying to say something. Tony started feeling more and more self-conscious, wanting to backtrack now while he still could. He started shuffling on his feet, looking down. "Pep, forg…"

"I love you too, Tony," she cut him, stepping forward, placing her arms on his shoulders. She smiled at him and his heart unclenched. "I love you."

He smiled then and cupped her face, kissing her, making sure she knew he meant it even though he might not repeat it again anytime soon. He wasn't the emotional type and she knew it. So he hoped it would be enough.

But at least it had done something right: his mind wasn't on the team anymore at all.

* * *

"Here you go. You're good, man, didn't miss a shot!" The guy holding the shooting stand exclaimed, giving Clint the big teddy bear he asked for.

The archer shrugged. "I got lucky." Bruce, Natasha and Steve snorted behind him. "Thanks."

There were people all round them, families, friends having fun, playing at the stands, waiting in line to go on rides. Some were eating hotdogs, candy, drinking beers, sodas. Laughs and conversations were echoing all around. Lights were dancing, reds, blues, yellows and whites mixing together in the darkness of the night. The atmosphere was warm despite the fact they were in the middle of December. It was just the feeling in the air, brought by so many people completely at peace and happy, smiling, laughing, enjoying life, in the same place.

Clint turned around and grinned at them. Thor looked at the big bear curiously. "Is it a Midgard custom to win stuffed animals?"

"Sort of. It's a game and if you win you get stuffed animals or other things. It's just an excuse to try and win at the games," Natasha explained, while walking next to him.

"It's a good way to get girls happy with you too. You win the things they want and _tada_!" Clint grinned, putting his arm around Natasha's shoulders, the bear under his other arm. Steve and Bruce were following them as they headed towards the cotton candy stand.

"Did it change much since your time?" Bruce asked him with a smile.

"Apart from the more technological stuff? No, not really. It still has the same feel. People have fun, eat things they shouldn't and play games." Steve avoided a kid that was running without looking in front of him, laughing with his friend.

"That's about right," Bruce laughed.

They stopped in front of the candy shop and Natasha went ahead buying all of them cotton candy. "Where are we going next?" Thor asked while looking at the rose candy winding around the sticks.

Clint and Bruce exchanged a glance. "The Ferris wheel!"

Natasha called for help and Steve quickly joined her taking two sticks to give to Bruce and Clint. Natasha held out one to Thor before they both took theirs. They all attacked it except for Thor who looked at them first before biting down on the candy.

His eyes shot opened. "This is delicious!" He exclaimed. They all laughed while walking in direction of the Ferris wheel.

They had been at the fair for over an hour now and it really had the desired effect: Tony had left their mind and they weren't thinking about what to do anymore. They were just having fun, teaching Thor about the greatest food you could find, the best games to play or the attractions you always had to go on in a fair. The fleeting thought that they should do it again when Tony will trust them again was there of course. Each one of them had thought about it but they were also aware that being with Tony – so recognizable, so famous – would be more difficult. Their faces were unknown. Steve was the only one people could really recognize and well, no one really paid attention to the quite quiet man. Tony would have been another story.

Bruce knew he would feel guilty about their outing later, when they were back and he will think about it with a fond smile. He'll realize Tony would have loved it and that would lead him to think about how they were doing things without him, unlike a real team should. The others would as well but not just yet.

Thor looked up at the big wheel, curious and wondering eyes wide open as he took in the piece of machinery and the swinging cabins. "What is this giant wheel?"

"It's nothing much really," Clint explained, finishing his candy. "You go in one of the cabins and then the wheel turns. Usually there's a good view up there so it's kinda nice. It's good too when you're with a girl, y'know, for kissing and stuff while at the top." A mischievous grin on his face, he raised his eyebrows at Thor who nodded very seriously.

"Then we shall go on this ride." He frowned a little. "Should I have brought Lady Jane with me?"

Bruce smiled a little in amusement. "It's fine Thor, she's not here anyway. I'm sure she won't mind it if you go without her."

"You never know with girls," Clint retorted, crossing his arms. Natasha elbowed him, sending him a glare.

Steve smiled fondly and looked at the team. They all had smiles on their faces, enjoying themselves greatly. They were all dressed casually, wearing jeans and shirts with their jackets thrown over it. They certainly didn't look like a band of superheroes. Actually, it was exactly how they saw each other. Normal people, with feelings and friends and family. With histories they'd like to forget which made them what they are, who they are now, today. They wouldn't change it for the world, no matter how hard it seemed sometimes.

They arrived at the front and the man made them go in. Three and two. Obviously Steve and Thor couldn't go together because they were too big. So Clint, Steve and Bruce ended up in one, Natasha and Thor in the other.

And then they were moving.

"You know… Tony would have loved it," Bruce quietly said in the silence of the ride.

They both swallowed and nodded. "Would have been the first to go after the candy."

"Would have wanted Thor to play the hammer game." Clint grinned, imagining it.

"He definitively would have wanted you to go at the shooting stand," Steve said, nodding at the bear the archer was still holding. "He wouldn't have stopped talking. Probably had tons of anecdotes about fairs." Bruce smiled slightly and looked over at the nacelle behind them. Thor grinned and waved his hand while Natasha shook her head fondly.

He turned back to the others and shook his head. "I'm not sure, you know, about that. I can't imagine Tony's parents taking him to fairs or amusement parks."

Clint nodded while Steve frowned. "You're probably right. Tony was the son of a billionaire. Taking him outside in such a crowded place where they could easily lose him? No. It would have been too risky."

"You mean…"

"People can do a lot of things for money, Steve. Taking a child isn't hard."

They stayed silent after that, each musing on different things. They hadn't wanted the conversation to put a damper on the atmosphere, but it had taken a bad turn. Suddenly the wheel stopped and they looked around, admiring the view. The lights of the city that never sleeps were shining all round. Cars were moving by. Closer to them people were walking around between the stands and the attractions in the middle of the fair's lights. Clint pointed at a tall building in the distance and they smiled when they recognized.

The Stark Tower.

Just like the man it was named after, its presence couldn't be ignored and it shined brightly, towing over the buildings around it.

The ringing of Clint's phone made them turn to look at the man. He took it out of his pocket and frowned as he read the message. He glanced at Natasha, slightly below them and she raised an eyebrow.

"Clint?"

"Fury wants to see us all tomorrow morning. He says it's urgent."

* * *

**So? What did you think about this little time they're spending apart? What do you think Fury wants? What do you think will happen next?**

**Please review!**

**AngelShep**


	7. Discoveries

**Bonjour! Here's the new chapter and we finally get into the serious stuff and learn more about who is after Tony (just a bit). That chapter also explains a little Fury's attitude that was kinda hostile but you'll see what I mean.**

**Thanks for the reviews last chapter and I loved reading what you thought would happen, your theories were great. Don't hesitate to give them to me again if you want - who knows, maybe one of you could give me an idea (even though I have already tons of those). ^^**

**Disclaimer: Still not mine, just borrowing for a little while longer...**

**Enjoy! Bonne lecture!**

* * *

_**Discoveries**_

When Tony woke up, he decided it was going to be a good day. He was in his oh so comfortable king-sized bed, Pepper in his arms, sun rays lightly warming them through the windows of their Malibu room. He had a eight-hour long night sleep after a small dinner and a walk along the beach with Pepper and only her on his mind. Temperatures were on the positive side, almost going as high as ten degrees at this hour of the day, sun was shining, soft marine breeze in the air, the sound of the waves crashing against the cliff echoed in the distance – yep, he decided, a very good day.

He opened his eyes and took in the sight of his beloved girlfriend still sleeping. He smiled and kissed her shoulder softly. He could stay all day there. But he couldn't of course.

Slowly he disentangled himself from her, making sure not to wake her up, and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. He stretched and stood up, idly scratching at the back of his head, while he made his way to the door. He opened it without making a noise and closed it behind him before padding down the corridor to the stairs. His lips curled up when he heard the sound of the water fall he had in his living room. It was silent.

He didn't remember the last time he woke up to a silent home. No superheroes talking over breakfast, no TV on. Nothing but the sound of water hitting water and the distant sound of waves. It didn't mean he didn't like waking up to find people so at ease and at home inside his kitchen but… He wasn't much of a morning person and so waking up to silence and not people talking and trying to make conversation with him was nice once in a while. At least he wouldn't get exasperated and annoyed looks thrown at him for grumbling and snapping at them because he couldn't drink his coffee in peace.

He made a bee-line for the coffeemaker once he was in the kitchen and started it up, putting the beans and the water inside. Once the hum of the working machine could be heard, he grabbed a mug, put it on the counter before sitting at a stool around the isle. He took a pad he had let down there and switched it on. "Jarvis? Was the analysis done?"

"Yes, Sir, shall I send you the results?"

"Yes please." Numbers and graphs filled the small screen and he frowned, as he took it in.

Vacation meant he could also search for whoever was after him without the Avengers finding out what he was up to. Pepper wouldn't take more than a look at it, assuming he was reviewing current projects, making sure nothing was wrong; he wasn't working after all and she knew he couldn't stay completely idle.

He didn't want anyone to know someone was after him. It wasn't unusual, people sent him threats on a daily basis and rival companies wish him ill often enough that someone making huge deadly humanoid creatures with a 'hello' sign was just taking it a step above.

Unfortunately for whoever did it, it meant he could be found more easily. The guy needed too many high-tech material and a secured lab for it to be just no one. Plus, he was smart and well-versed in genetics. Mechanics wasn't his forte judging by the robot. He knew his way around chemistry from the acid/drool which could burn through metal but didn't do anything to the fur and whatever skin the DASC had. He probably wasn't working alone of course, but if you added all those things, the list of people with the means shortened greatly.

He had taken a sample of the creatures (several actually: fur, piece of scale, acid and skin) to try and identify how they made those things. He assumed SHIELD would have done the same thing but he had the advantage of being able to do it more quickly. And well the things were sending him a message so he took it a bit personally.

And from what he could gather, he had guessed several parts of it already. The DNA was a mix between chameleon (ah, ah, no surprise there), snakes (the scales probably though they were thicker than snakes'), wolf (the fur? Strange cause he didn't think a wolf was protected against acid by its _hair_) and… human. The rest wasn't anything known, so he assumed it was created by those geneticists, who were freaking-ly _good_. He wasn't an expert on genetics (he could use Bruce's help on that), but he could see the beautiful hard work of those people, creating a DNA mixing so many different species and managing to actually get some kind of viable result. It was breathtakingly impressive.

The beep coming from the coffeemaker made him put the tablet down. He filled his mug and went back to the isle. "Jarvis, could you look for the best geneticists in the world? Give the… fifteen best ones. Think it'll be enough."

"Right away Sir."

He looked back at the results and scrolled down through the numbers, and words, reading them, analyzing them, looking for something that would help him. According to the analysis, the acid was brand new, mixing old known ones (hydrochloric, nitric, sulphuric, perchloric) – God he was lucky it didn't pierce the suit because it was like a drop or there would have been nothing left of his leg. Whoever did this was dead or plain lucky because he couldn't imagine what kind of reaction must have resulted from that particular mix.

Sipping his coffee, he kept digging through all the data, frowning more and more at the sick combination those people made. They really were crazy if they'd gone to those lengths for what exactly? Send him a message? Kill him? He had no idea, but he sure as hell was going to find out.

"Sir, I have the names you wanted."

"Send them to my tablet." The information went up on the screen. He was about to look through them when the sound of steps heading his way made him look up. He saw Pepper walking towards him and shut down the tablet, smiling. "Good morning, beauty."

"Good morning to you too, handsome," she smiled coming to a stop in front of him. She put her hands around his neck and raised an eyebrow. "Do not think it means you can make me forget you were on your pad when I walk in. Sweet compliments will lead you nowhere."

He grinned and wrapped an arm around her waist. "I was checking the running tests of the suit. It _did_ have a hole in its leg and that's never good."

She rolled her eyes and went to the coffeemaker. Tony glanced at the pad, frowning. He had had time to see one name. But it was enough because that name had rung a bell. He'd seen that name before and if he remembered well (which he did because hey _Tony Stark _here), it didn't bode well for him.

Thomas Lang.

* * *

Steve looked around at his teammates, wondering why Fury could possibly have called them all so early. He knew they were probably wondering the same thing themselves. It wasn't unusual per see, but if it was urgent-urgent he would have made them come yesterday when he sent the message. He didn't so it meant it was about some undergoing project they didn't know about and were about to find out. Sometimes he could understand Tony's frustration with the man and his secrets. He felt more like a pawn of SHIELD than an active member of a team of superheroes.

"Have any ideas?" Clint suddenly asked.

"None," he sighed, resting his elbows on the table.

"Think it's about Tony's ah… vacation?" Bruce questioned, glasses in his hand, fingers rubbing his tired eyes.

The door opened suddenly, preventing them from answering. Fury strode inside, hands clasped behind his back. He looked over at them, his eye lingering on the empty seat, before he stood at the end of the table. They all straightened up a bit and moved their eyes to him, carefully putting on a blank expression, not giving anything away.

"I see most of you have answered my call." His voice was emotionless and businesslike. But they could tell he wasn't surprised by Tony's absence and was in fact angry. "Is he going to be late as usual?"

Steve leaned forward, thinking it might be best if he answered that one. "He is not coming. He's…"

"At a meeting for Stark Industries," Natasha finished. "Pepper wouldn't leave him alone with it, saying it was in his very best interests." She smirked a little. "If you know what I mean."

Steve would have believed her if he didn't know better. It was completely plausible. And it would definitively be something Pepper would do if she needed to get what she wanted from Tony. It worked too, usually.

"Very well. Is he making the weapons I asked for?"

Clint frowned. "No, he's not. He told you he wouldn't make them."

Fury's eye narrowed. "Then what has he been doing?"

Steve put his hand forward on the table. "He's been working on his projects. Tony is a business man and an inventor. He's not one of your agents, he does other things."

"Why did you call us?" Bruce asked, not wanting to beat around the bush any longer.

Fury sighed and sat down on his chair. "We've stopped two attacks on Stark in the last two months."

"What?" They all exclaimed, suddenly more attentive, ready to jump out of their seats.

"We don't know who's ordering the attacks but two groups of mercenaries and assassins were caught. They didn't know who had hired them. They simply received a name and a very good amount of money with a promise of more once their job was done."

Steve clenched his fists. "Why didn't you tell us? Tony _must_ know."

"No. If he knows then they might change tactics and we won't find them anymore. We don't know what they want with Stark." Fury was frustrated but suddenly his attitude with Tony made sense.

"You were trying to protect him," Steve whispered.

"If there is one thing I know about Stark, it's that he never does something he doesn't want to do. Even more so if someone he dislikes pushes him into doing so." Fury smirked. "He will go as far as to do something else in the very same place he would have done what I've asked of him."

"But at least you knew where he was. The workshop." Bruce closed his eyes and pinched his nose.

"Or the offices of SI. But under constant protection." Steve glanced at the others, biting his lip. "Anyway I'm telling you now so that you, in turn, keep an eye on him as well as Miss Potts. The order they received was to abduct him, but they could go after her to get to him."

Clint crossed his arms and looked at the ceiling. "There's something you may want to know."

Fury raised an eyebrow. "I have a feeling I am not going to like it."

Natasha leaned forward, clasping her hands in front of her. "As you may be aware, following one mission, Tony has stopped trusting us."

"Something I am not happy with. I hope you will solve this problem soon." They all did too.

Natasha inhaled and kept going. "Seeing this, he chose to take some time away with Pepper."

Fury clenched his fists. "He what?"

"He's at his home in Malibu. He's fine I'm sure. We can call him if you want," Bruce added, offering a smile.

The director looked at him unimpressed. Steve wondered what they were supposed to do. They couldn't make him come back, not without telling him why and that was something Fury didn't want to do. He didn't agree with it of course. Tony could take care of himself and you couldn't hide anything from him for long. He would know something was going on and eventually found out. It wouldn't end well – especially not with the whole trust thing. He didn't even want to think about what would happen if it came down to that.

"We have a lead though," Fury suddenly said, choosing not to comment on Tony's vacation. "One of the mercenaries got a call. They gave him the place where they would leave him. It's an apartment in Washington. It belongs to a man called Thomas Lang, a geneticist."

Clint frowned. "Why would a geneticist go after Tony? They're… They don't have anything in common."

Fury sighed, acquiescing. "I know. But that doesn't mean he's alone. He's probably not. Stark has pissed off too many people without even trying by being who he is." Fury ran a tired hand on his forehead. "Don't call him. I'm sure they're both safe. When do they come back?"

"In two days I think." Natasha nodded at Steve. "He needs it and well it's been doing us some good too."

"Make it work. But remember this," Fury stood up, looking at each of them turn by turn. "You'll never fully have it back. You can do everything possible, prove to him it'll never happen again – it'll never be enough to have it all back."

Steve and Thor frowned. "How can you say that?" The soldier asked.

Fury sent them a bitter smile. "Trust is something Stark gives when it's earned. You might deserve it again, but you'll never earn it back completely. 'Fooled me once, not twice' is more than a saying here. The only way Stark knows to protect himself is to make sure people don't get too close." He shook his head. "I'm not trying to get you down. I'll be glad to be proven wrong but… Don't get your hopes too high."

On those words, Fury left the room, leaving the teammates to shoot each other sad and torn looks. Steve closed his eyes and sighed. He thought it would be hard but he never thought about the possibility that they'll never get it back. It didn't seem to be an option and Tony had said they would get it back, that he just needed time. It wouldn't work out, the team, the missions… Nothing will work if Tony never trusted them fully again.

He didn't know about the others but he wouldn't be able to take it. Knowing he had destroyed what they had and it would never be back to what it used to be… The guilt would destroy him.

"What would you say about searching by ourselves who's after Tony?" Clint wondered, probably anxious to change the subject and get their minds away from the possibility that they may have ruined everything completely and definitively.

"I'd say I'm all for it," Natasha answered.

"Then we should go back to the tower." Thor stood up, the others following swiftly, and they all left the room behind. But none of them forgot Fury's words and the truth they could feel ringing behind them.

* * *

Pepper wrapped a towel around herself and got out of the shower's cabin. She grabbed another and wrapped her hair in it, twisting and rubbing it to make most of the water get out. She sighed and walked to the mirror. She wiped the mist away and sighed. They would go back to New York tomorrow and, while she felt that Tony was better and had his control back on his emotions, she wasn't sure he was ready to get back to them. Three days away couldn't erase a month of mistrust and pain, no matter how much they wanted it.

She grabbed her clothes and put them on before taking the towel off her hair. This was their last night, she had to make sure he would keep his mind away from the trip back and seeing them again. She combed her hair before tidying up everything. She then walked out of the bathroom and headed towards the living room where she knew she would find him.

She walked in and froze immediately.

Tony was on his knees, a gun pointed at his head, facing her. There was blood dripping from his temple on the side of his face. Two men were behind him, both holding guns. A third one was at his side – it was the one threatening Tony.

"I suggest you don't move, miss Potts."

She nodded, hoping her fear wasn't as obvious as she thought it was. She felt someone grab her arm and turned her head to see two men. What did they want? Who were they? Questions were running through her head, but no answers were coming her way. She looked back at Tony, locking eyes with him.

_Be careful, do what they want_.

She swallowed. _What do they want?_

He closed his eyes for a second before opening them again. _Me_.

She blinked her tears away and then pain exploded at the back of her head. The last thing she saw was the man hitting Tony as well on the back of his head.

* * *

**Please don't hate me or kill me! **

**Now that's said, you can shoot reviews (I have no problem with those) and reactions. (I can accept mild threats, cause I'm nice that way :D )**

**A la prochaine!**

**AngelShep**


	8. Taken

**Hello! Here it is, the next chapter. I'm very happy for the enthusiasm for the previous chapter. i'm still alive, so I'm thanking you for threatening me only lightly :). **

**So as I'm sure you know, Tony-whump is going to start now! Yay! Just so you know my friends tell me I'm sadistic so I'm not going to hold back - it's just a warning.  
**

**I realize I haven't said it yet so here: thank you everyone for reading this story, thank you to those who favorited it and followed it. And finally thank you for your reviews - I love them!**

**Disclaimer: Nope, not mine, which is sad.**

**Bonne lecture!**

* * *

_**Taken**_

The first thing he became aware of was the cold seeping through his clothes. Then he realized it was because they were damped and sticking to his body, not helping in keeping him warm. The second thing he noticed was the pounding in his head and the headache he had. He hated _headaches_. Then he realized his wrists were hurting him.

And finally he decided it would be easier to get what was going on if he opened his damn eyes.

The light – though dim – burned his retina and accented his headache so much he wondered if Thor had decided to use his head as a practice dummy with Mjolnir. Except he knew it wasn't the case – he would have preferred it oh so much at what was really going on.

He opened his eyes again and forced himself not to close them again. His vision was slightly blurred but with time it cleared and he could see he was in a small dark room. Water was running down the walls and dripping from the ceiling – a very high ceiling. He looked up slowly and groaned. No wonder his wrists were hurting him, they were holding his whole body. Thick rope was wrapped around them and held by a rusty hook at the end of a very old looking chain. He tried moving his fingers and arms but quickly forgot it when pain flashed through his tired and strained muscles.

He looked down at the floor, noticing vaguely there were puddles everywhere. His feet were touching the floor, barely but it was still something – it would be worse for his arms if he couldn't put his toes on the ground.

Then he went mentally through everything. Arc reactor? Check. Injuries? Bad headache meant a highly probable hit on the head and judging from the way his skin hitched on the left side of his head, there was probably an injury there. Plus the pounding at the back of his head? Hit over there too. Nothing else hurt or caused him pain (arms not counting) so he was pretty good, considering he was in an unknown place with unknown people who didn't take him there to have a nice conversation over dinner.

A groan and a whine caught his attention behind him. He turned his head in the direction, knowing it was useless but well. A new groan and suddenly his eyes widened because he recognized that voice. Pepper.

"Pepper?" He made a face when he heard his voice, raw and weak.

A new groan and then: "Tony?" She didn't sound hurt or anything which was the biggest relief he ever felt. "Oh my God, Tony!"

He heard movement and then there was a hand on his side. He turned his head and saw her, hair uncombed and face dirty, but she was alive and didn't seem hurt and right now that was the most important thing to him. "Pepper, are you alright? Is there…"

"_You_'re asking _me_ that? Tony you…" She shook her head and reached for his wrists, groaning when she realized she wasn't tall enough, even when holding herself on her toes. She fell back, bare feet flat on the floor and looked back at his face. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," he breathed out. He shifted a bit, trying to find maybe a less uncomfortable position. The only thing he got for his pain was more _pain_ coming from his arms and strained muscles. "Is there any door or window?"

"A door behind you. I doubt it's opened." She put her hands on his face and ran her thumb down the side covered in dry blood.

He swallowed and leaned into her touch. "Any cameras?"

She looked around before shifting her eyes back to his. "None." She bit her lip and looked up. "Do you… Do you think if I help you get higher you could slide the rope off the hook?"

He glanced at the hook and frowned, thinking it over. She would need to hold him long enough and he'd have to hold the hook between his fingers at the same time he pulled the rope out… All his weight would be on Pepper…

"No. I doubt I can." He looked back down at her and knew from the look on her face that she didn't believe him. She knew why he didn't want to try. He shifted again, wincing when the movement pulled at his arms. "Whatever happened…"

"Stop. Do you… Do you know who they might be?"

He sighed. "I… I have a vague idea. You know that mission in Dallas?" She nodded. One of her arms wrapped around his waist and she slid her feet under his. He shot her a look and tried to step back, but she held his body close, not allowing him to move. "There was this robot I shot down and…" he groaned slightly. "There was 'hello Stark' written on it. I've looked into it and discovered one name. I was still into it when they arrived."

She frowned. "Why didn't you say anything? Is anyone aware someone's after you?"

He bit his lip and shook his head. She shot him a disapproving look. "I didn't think it was that big of a deal. There was one attack and all the Avengers could have been there," he weakly protested.

"What do you think they want?" Her voice was shaking but she was wearing a determined and strong expression, showing she was still holding it together.

"Ransom? Doubt it, taking you and me kinda went against that. Same thing with leverage. To build something? That would be plausible. _You_ would be the leverage then to get me to do what they want. The last thing would be revenge. Plausible too." He didn't elaborate but he knew she got why: if something was to happen to her, it would kill him. He hated that very idea. She was too vulnerable, too fragile, too important to him – he couldn't let anything happen to her.

"Tony…"

"Whatever happens Pepper, I need you to do something for me."

"Tony, nothing…"

"Pepper, _please_." She inhaled sharply when hearing the desperation in his voice and nodded. "Don't say anything, don't look – close your eyes, look away, anything. Block it. Tune it out. _Try_ at least."

Tears filled her eyes. "Tony, what… I can't…"

"Pepper, those guys – whoever they are – they won't make it easy on me. But I don't want you to have to go through that. Promise me you'll try." He knew his voice was desperate and almost panicked but he couldn't handle the thought of anything happening to her. If they so much as _touch_ her… And he didn't want her to see what they would do to him if they did anything at all. He could handle the pain. But he couldn't handle it if she had to suffer alongside him.

"I… I promise. I'll try, Tony." He wished he could wipe her tears or hold her – anything to comfort her, instead of just looking at her. Slowly he inclined his head, putting his forehead against hers, closing his eyes.

He hoped the Avengers would arrive soon to get them out of this mess.

* * *

Bruce looked up from the screen he was watching when he heard the door to the lab open. Steve smiled at him and strode towards him. He stepped around the desks and other machines Tony had installed everywhere. Sometimes he wondered how the genius could work in the middle of such a mess – he guessed there was probably some order for him, but really it was a good question. The scientist had an inkling though that the workshop was the reflection of Tony's mind. Filled to the brim by thoughts and projects, a complete mess he could find his way around.

He was sure people could spend several lifetimes trying to understand the genius and never getting it completely.

"Did you find anything?" The soldier asked stopping beside him. He glanced at the screen, frowning at the lines of information and the numbers that were there.

"Tony knew."

The captain turned wide disbelieving eyes to him. "What?"

"This is his research. You remember the Dallas attack?" A nod. "It was a message sent to him. On the robot 'Hello Stark' was written. Tony analyzed the DNA of the DASC – I'm assuming it's the name he gave those creatures. He… He had progress. In a few days he got to the same point as SHIELD. He had a list of names and he had outlined the name Thomas Lang."

Steve huffed, smiling a bit. "It doesn't surprise me somehow. Why didn't he say anything?"

"Probably thought it wasn't serious. I think SHIELD would be interested in those results. They're still waiting for them." Bruce grinned at him, wondering how Fury would take this. Tony was the one who supplied everything technology-wise to SHIELD, to know he withheld something that would allow them to have results more quickly about DNA…

Yep, he wouldn't be happy.

"Maybe we should call him then. If he knows about the threat, we should tell him how serious it is."

The scientist nodded. It was true. But then again, Tony had one last day of vacation and he might want to enjoy it. It wasn't as if he was in danger in his own high security house.

"I don't know. I'm sure SHIELD has an eye on him now that they know he's there. He's fine I'm sure."

Steve hesitated before sighing. "I just want to call him, you know. This whole thing Fury said kinda threw me off." Bruce could understand. They had all taken it pretty hard even though they should have known better. Broken trust wasn't something you could fix with a snap of your fingers. He had told them someone had betrayed him before, he had told them exactly what had happened and they hadn't thought twice about it. They thought things could go back to normal but it couldn't. It wasn't possible.

They were faced with the harsh reality of the truth and they didn't know what to do anymore now. They were feeling so lost and what were they supposed to do anyway?

Bruce shook his head. "Okay. Let's call him. Jarvis?"

"Yes doctor Banner?"

"Call Tony please."

They should have called earlier. They should have done something the moment Fury told them someone was after Tony. They should have followed what they thought was right instead of keeping Tony in the dark. "Miss Potts and Sir has been taken, doctor. I cannot reach them." And now they were regretting their decision.

Bruce's eyes widened as panic overtook him. "What? When?"

"Yesterday evening."

The doctor forced himself to take a deep and long breath, the presence in the back of his mind fading again. Steve's voice filtered through, his swearing almost making him smile because Steve just didn't swear and the situation had to be bad for it to happen and…

Oh God Tony and Pepper had been taken.

It had been eighteen hours and they had had absolutely no idea. How could they have been so stupid and careless and… But it wasn't their fault, was it? They didn't want to harass Tony by calling him uselessly so they had let him be. But then it wouldn't have been useless because it would have been to tell him someone wanted him alive and was ready to throw anything at him. Then again SHIELD was supposed to keep an eye on him and they had failed at their job so they were to blame too. And… _Who am I kidding?_ Bruce wondered. It wouldn't have happened at all if they didn't betray his trust in the first place.

"Wait Jarvis why didn't you tell us the moment it happened?"

"I am sorry doctor Banner but Sir prevented me from being able to contact you ten days ago and had yet to change it back." The AI really sounded sorry.

Steve frowned. "Why did he…?"

"I was about to tell you about the threat over mister Stark's life, but unfortunately wasn't quick enough to escape his override." The AI sounded proud and disgruntled at the same time, which was a strange combination. But they understood why.

To know the AI wanted to tell them what Tony wanted to keep to himself made them smile. Jarvis was overprotective of his creator and if he came to the conclusion they needed to know despite what happened a few weeks back, it meant he trusted them enough with the genius' safety.

"It wasn't your fault, Jarvis. You tried." Bruce sighed and took off his glasses to rub his eyes.

"We need to tell SHIELD and the others. Come on Bruce."

"Yeah. Jarvis, send me all images you can get of the guys who took them."

"Already done, Doctor Banner."

He nodded. Of course, the AI was probably just as worried as they were about his creator and Pepper. If there was one thing Bruce had learned about Tony and his creations, it was that they were some sort of family and Pepper was included in that. Only the genius could make robots that could get attached and have some semblance of emotions.

They left the workshop and went upstairs where they knew they would find the rest of the team. Bruce asked Jarvis to contact Fury the moment they were all together so that they could inform everyone at the same time. They hoped it would end well. They really did. They couldn't take it if it ended wrong. They couldn't imagine it ending differently.

They entered the living room where Thor was watching curiously Natasha and Clint play chess. Natasha seemed to be winning by far. Clint only had his king and a bishop left and he was slowly getting baked up in a corner.

"Check," Natasha said moving lazily a castle.

Clint groaned and thought over his next move. "Guys," Steve said, walking over to the couch and flopping down on it next to Thor. A screen appeared on the coffee table and the image of Fury looking at them filled it.

"Is there something wrong?" he immediately asked.

Steve glanced at Bruce who was standing behind the couch. The doctor pinched his nose and took a deep breath. "I… I've discovered that Tony knew about the threat on him." He was about to continue when Clint cut him off.

"He knew? Why didn't he say anything?"

"He didn't know about all of it. He wasn't aware about the tentative. He knew for about a week. The attack in Dallas… There was a message for him. He started analyzing the DNA of the creatures and associated it with names."

Clint snorted. "Don't tell me he found something in a week when SHIELD was at it for _weeks_."

Bruce smiled while Fury scowled. "He found the name Thomas Lang indeed."

"Then contact him. Tell him what's going on or I'm sending my team in his house," Fury ordered. His eye was twitching and his arms were crossed. If Bruce didn't know better, he would think the director was… pouting. Not that he would blame him. Tony had a way to make everyone exasperated without even being here.

And that was the problem wasn't it? "You might want to send them in then. Jarvis informed us he and Pepper had been kidnapped yesterday evening."

"What?" They all exclaimed, jumping to their feet (de-crossing his arms for Fury since he was already standing).

"Who…"

"Jarvis?"

Images filled the screen next to the live feed of Fury. Two people had their faces visible but the other three were wearing masks. Names flashed at them. Victor Maquis and John Kovak. "Mercenaries," Natasha said. "Offer them enough money and they will do whatever you want. Even if it seems impossible. Most mercenaries or assassins would say no when the name Stark is mentioned. Everyone's aware of his high-tech security, his connection with the Avengers and well of Iron Man."

"Search on your side, I'm getting teams to follow that lead too. We're gonna get them back."

The video stopped. They all glanced at each other. "I'm gonna make a few calls. Some contacts might know something." Clint left on those words. Natasha followed him, to do the same thing.

"I'm going to look into their names," Bruce decided.

Steve and Thor nodded. Bruce smiled at them apologetically. They knew they were feeling useless because they couldn't do anything right now to help and save Tony and Pepper. They all had a field where they were best. They were not to blame for not having any contacts or being able to search for them. One wasn't even from their planet and the other wasn't from the right era. Really no one expected them to have contacts that could help them.

And right now it didn't matter all that much, they had a teammate and a friend to save.

* * *

Pepper was trying to wipe the blood off of his face when the door suddenly opened. She jumped in surprise and glanced behind him in surprise.

Tony gritted his teeth, hoping they would leave her alone. They had to. He shot her a glance and she nodded imperceptibly and stepped back. She ran nervously a hand through her dirty and sticky hair. She shouldn't be in this situation – he hated she was in this situation because of him. The sound of boots hitting water echoed in the room. He saw a flicker of movement at the periphery of his vision. He didn't turn his head though. He kept his eyes on Pepper who was looking between the men while chewing on her lower lip.

"Tony Stark. What a great honor." The voice came from behind him. He forced himself to stay relax and not tense. He didn't like it, not being able to see who he was supposed to talk to, he couldn't analyze his reactions, see what would make him tick. What he needed to do to make sure they'd focus on him. "I must admit you're well guarded. I've been trying to get an audience with you for over two months now."

Two months. They had been trying for two months. He was… in his lab for a month mostly. Because the others had betrayed his trust and to spite Fury who wanted his stupid weapons…

_Son of a bitch_, he cursed. Fury knew. He knew and he had played him so that he wouldn't be outdoors as much as he could be sometimes. When they would get out of here, he was going to give him a piece of his mind. If he thought he could just hide from him the fact that someone was after him, then he will have to deal with him. He could protect himself, he didn't need Fury to take care of his own goddamn problems.

"I'd say the same if I knew who you were," he replied holding his head up, voice cheeky, a smirk growing on his face. Two could play a game.

"I have heard about you and your arrogance and insolence, but I must say, it was highly belittled." Two men stepped into his line of sight, Pepper was almost against the wall – which was good and bad at the same time. Bad because she couldn't escape if they decided to turn onto her. Good because there was less of a chance they would be reminded of her – though it was more of a hope of him than a possibility.

"My reputation somehow never precedes me well." He clicked his tongue. "Such a shame really."

A chuckle. "It is really. Gentlemen, will you show our guest how nice our hospitality is?" Footsteps retreating. The two men glanced at each other, grim grins on their face. The door closed. Tony shot Pepper a look and she shook her head, tears flooding from her eyes.

But she closed them, putting her arms closer around her, seeming to shrink on herself as she backed up against the wall.

And then the first punch hit him square on the jaw.

* * *

**_Voilà_ !** **You love me right? **

**Reviews are welcome. Don't hesitate to tell me what you think about this chapter and about what will happen!**

**Love you guys. (even with the threats)**

**AngelShep**


	9. A New Lead

**Bonjour, bonjour ! I'm in a great mood, so here it is, the new chapter.**

**I said it to some people, I am from now on going to update only one chapter each week, so you now know how long you have to wait between each one :). I can also tell you for sure that you might hate me for what I will do soon in this story.**

**Anyway, i'm almost completely happy with this chapter. The only part I don't like much is the middle one, I had trouble writing it. **

**I'm not gonna ramble any longer. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Still not mine...**

* * *

_**A New Lead**_

Tony bit back a groan. The coppery taste of blood filled his mouth and he spat it out. He was surprised he didn't start bleeding earlier, he expected it at the third or fourth punch to the jaw, not the sixth. He let his head fall forward and flicked his eyes to Pepper. She was huddled on the floor, arms around her legs, forehead against her knees. She was shaking and her fingers were clenched tightly, knuckles white.

A punch to the gut made him gasp and he snapped his eyes back to the man in front of him, glaring hard. He received a crooked smile and another punch for his troubles. "That all you got?" He asked, smirking at him.

If they thought they could get to him, they were wrong. He wouldn't give them the pleasure of hearing him scream, seeing him flinch. Oh no. He wasn't going to break at their hands, he wasn't going to let them win. He was Tony Stark, he survived Afghanistan, blasting his way out the way only _he_ could do, with nothing but a bunch of scraps. Really they were ridiculous in comparison.

And he knew they would save them. He might have his trust completely disregarded and stomped on but that didn't mean he didn't know they would come. It wasn't a question of if, but a question of when. He should maybe have told them about the fact someone was after him. Then again, _Fury_ should have said something too, so really he wasn't to blame on that.

His head was suddenly bent backwards, hair pulled at its roots. He winced a bit, but it had the desired effect: he was definitively back in the room and not dwelling on thoughts of the upcoming help – alternatives were _not_ an eventuality when Pepper's life was concerned. He could see the vein that was bulging on the man's face, he had struck a nerve it seemed.

"You think you're all mighty cause you're Tony Stark, uh?"

Tony rolled his eyes. Of course, wasn't that the very reason he was alive? Because he was all too much happy to be mighty? "Nah… I just think I'm better than you, asshole."

The punch to the jaw wasn't a surprise. He wondered vaguely when they would start being more serious about their 'torture'. Right now he was bored. The guy reacted too well at his taunts and he wasn't even working on them at all.

He felt a hand on his fingers and frowned. His eyes snapped to them and he swallowed. He had stopped feeling them some time ago, the lack of blood circulating there and the pain of strained arms' muscles made him forget completely about them. Now though they were back at the forefront of his mind. He loved his fingers; no really, he needed them too much to dislike them. And he was about to lose one or two of them.

He gritted his teeth, shoulders tensing. He didn't move his fingers – it would only make it hurt more if he clenched them.

The hand closed around one of them and then – he grunted, pain flooding through him. He felt the snap more than he had heard it, that was for sure. He lowered his burning gaze to the guy in front of him who was grinning with satisfaction, a hungry gleam in his dark eyes. _Smile while you can, we'll see who will be the one laughing in the end_, Tony thought grimly.

"Not my first broken finger, you idiot," he let out, spitting blood out at the same time.

The man growled and punched him again, hitting his ribs. He gasped loudly and bit down on his tongue when he felt one snap. His breath got caught in his throat and he blinked, trying to get control back of his lungs. The whistling he could hear wasn't good. He carefully took a small breath through his nose and almost choked when the bone moved in his ribcage, pain hitting him hard.

Black spots appeared in his vision and he closed his eyes. He heard the two buffoons chuckling and a small whimper – _Pepper_. He forced his eyes open and looked at her. He knew she heard him gasp and his hard breathing. She was crying.

His eyes turned back to the guy in front of him and, ignoring the pain in his chest, he spat at the guy, his blood touching him in his face. With a satisfied smirk, he held up his chin. "I know a girl whose hits are worse than yours, Kenny-doll."

He was aware he wasn't helping his case. But really how many people had told him he had a gift for pissing people off? Pretty much everyone. Truth was he was proud of it.

That's why the punch straight to his face that broke his nose was expected. He grunted, trying to catch his breath, but between his broken rib, his broken nose and the blood in his mouth, it was hard to do. His hair was once again pulled back and he gasped as the blood fell in his throat, nearly choking him. His rib protested against the strain that straightened his back. He unconsciously moved his hands and pain flared through his body as the broken finger twitched and hit his intact ones.

"Not so big anymore, are ya?" The voice seemed far away and he tried to get a grasp back on his surroundings. He forced his eyes open but his vision was blurred. He felt blood trickle down his cheeks and took a shaky breath, spitting blood out.

And then something hit him on the head and he knew no more.

* * *

Steve rolled his shoulders to try and relax himself. It had been thirty-six hours since Tony and Pepper got kidnapped. They had yet to find any leads and the SHIELD agents hadn't found anything in their house except blood. Blood they now knew was Tony's. It didn't make them feel any better.

Jarvis had told them he called the colonel Rhodes – whoever that was, Steve didn't really know even though it wasn't the first time he heard the name – and he would be there soon. Thor and he had decided to wait for him and Bruce had joined them when he realized there was nothing more he could do in the lab if he didn't have more information. That meant Natasha, Clint and SHIELD were their only hopes of finding them.

So here they were, waiting, doing nothing. Thor was staring at his hands, which were clenched. He was frustrated and angry and feeling so damn guilty that the weather reflected perfectly his mood – black clouds, pouring rain and lightning striking the sky since they learned what happened. Bruce was wringing his hands nervously, looking at the elevator doors, waiting for them to open. He didn't stand the waiting around doing nothing as much as Thor and Steve. And it was probably worse with the Hulk.

The doors suddenly opened and a man rushed out, striding quickly into the room. He was wearing jeans with a white shirt and a black leather jacket. He was tall – not as much as Steve and Thor, but taller than Tony, that was sure. He looked around before his dark eyes fell upon them. He frowned slightly before walking towards them.

"You must be part of the Avengers. I'm James Rhodes, Tony's best friend. Jarvis told me he and Pep were kidnapped. I came as soon as I could."

Steve blinked. Did he say he was Tony's best friend? He knew they were friends but this… "I'm Thor, prince…"

"Asgard. Yeah Tony told me. And you…" he turned to Bruce, a smile tugging at his lips, "must be Bruce." At the scientist's surprised face, he added, rolling his eyes: "He's annoying when he starts ranting about his projects but well I did catch your name a few times. He did describe you a bit when I asked though." He shrugged. "He likes you." Finally he turned to Steve, not the least bit disturbed by Bruce's embarrassed expression. "And _you_ must be Steve Rogers."

"I am."

He looked him over and Steve couldn't help but feel uncomfortable under his gaze. "Anyway, do you have any lead?"

Steve cleared his throat and stepped forward. "We are still looking, sir, we will inform you of our advance, do not worry about this."

He raised an eyebrow at him and crossed his arms. "Are you telling me to just stay here and sit while you go save my two friends, captain?"

"Whoever took them is more than you can…"

"More than a man who made a suit like Tony's, using the very same technology?" He questioned. Thor and Bruce frowned, not aware of that fact. Steve opened his mouth, ready to reply but the colonel stopped him. "Right now, I'm not happy with any of you for what you did to Tony, so really I'm gonna take a leaf out of his book and say _fuck you_ Captain if you think you can order me around."

Steve gaped at the man, felling his burning gaze on him. Maybe he could believe he was best friend with the genius – someone who could hold his own and speak his mind was definitively someone Tony could be friend with. But the soldier wouldn't back down, this wasn't a situation where he could help, no matter how much he wanted to.

"I'm not sure you understand the situation, sir. We could be in danger and we are not easy to kill, I won't let…"

"You don't know who I am, do you?" He glanced at Thor and Bruce who both shrugged. "No of course not, God, Tony…" He whispered to himself. "I'm the colonel James Rhodes, Tony's best friend and liaison between the US Army and Stark Industries, but I'm also the second person in this world who has a pass at the most advanced piece of technology out there."

Bruce's eyes widened. "You mean…"

He nodded. "Yes. I'm Iron Patriot. Tony made and updates the suit I wear." He turned to Steve and raised an eyebrow, daring him to protest. "Do you still think I would be too vulnerable to go with you save Tony and Pepper?"

He was pretty much at a loss of what to do. If he said it indeed, he would be at the same time saying _Tony_ shouldn't be with them, but if he stated otherwise he would have to let him – someone that wasn't part of the team or SHIELD – in. "We never worked with you. It could be a…"

Rhodes waved a hand around, brushing his remark aside. "I can do what people tell me to do during missions, and I know how Tony does work, and even if you can't expect me to give you equations and solutions to every problem, I can handle it."

"Okay sir, it's not because you have a suit and know Tony that you can just suddenly be a part of the team."

"Oh you mean the team that completely destroyed Tony's trust? The one that accepted his home, his technology –" Clint and Natasha entered the room behind the colonel, whom didn't notice them, too caught up in his angry rant, "– his _weapons_, his goddamn generosity and hospitality, just to throw it all back in his face the second they had the chance to because they couldn't get their fucking asses together to go and _ask_ him what happened?"

Bruce winced and looked down. Thor looked away, fists clenched. Clint froze mid-step, swallowing hard. Steve pursed his lips and forced himself to keep looking at the man. Natasha closed her eyes, her face not betraying anything but the soldier could tell by the way her shoulders tense shortly that she was hit just as much as the rest of them by the words stumbling out of the man's mouth.

"And yeah I'm aware of that because I was the one who got a call from Tony who was asking me when I would be back to hang out with him. Do you know how many times in the twenty years I've known the man he asked me – outright asked me, without messing around – when I could hang out with him? Six times. Four of those were during MIT, when he was pretty much on his own. The fifth was after his parents' death. And the sixth was a month ago." He tilted his head to the side. "I think you all realize what I mean there."

Natasha opened her eyes, anger flashing in them momentarily, before she stepped forward to stand next to the man. She crossed her arms and held up her chin, looking at him with cold eyes. "I do remember you stealing his suit."

He turned to her, not even surprised to see her there. "I also treated him to his favorite restaurant in Los Angeles and stayed a whole week with him, disobeying an order from my superior, because my best friend was more important to me and I didn't want to leave knowing the last thing I did was almost killing him because I was in a suit I stole from him and that someone was controlling." He said it all in one breath and raised an eyebrow, not in the slight least impressed by the Black Widow's famous stare. "What about you? Can you say the same?"

Clint walked to them and raised his hands, trying to stop whatever was going on. Steve glanced at Bruce and saw him pinching his nose, breathing slowly and deeply, fingers clenched around his glasses. Oh God they didn't need the Hulk right now.

"What about we take care of this when Tony and Pepper are back with us?" Clint enquired, looking between Natasha and Rhodes. The colonel nodded sharply and took a step back, showing them he was willing to listen. "We have something. Our contacts say the same thing. A group named FUW apparently got one of the greatest 'intelligence' in the world."

Natasha turned to the rest of them, but Steve could see she was keeping an eye on the colonel. "We assume 'intelligence' means Stark. We might find it annoying as hell when he brags about being a genius, that doesn't change the fact that he _is_ one."

Steve nodded, agreeing. None of them admitted it really because they didn't want to fuel his ego any more, but it truly didn't make it any less true. He might not be the best one to judge because pretty much any piece of technology impressed him most of the time but the way Tony could use them and how he could create things that were so _breathtaking_ in their complexity as easily as he breathed was overwhelmingly amazing to the super soldier. He supposed Thor must feel the same because he was as new as he was to this. As for Clint and Natasha they could hold their own even though they were nowhere near Tony's level. Bruce was good too he guessed even though it wasn't his specialty. "What's FUW?"

Rhodes frowned and raised a hand to his chin, tapping his fingers against it. "For a United World."

"What?" Clint let out surprised.

"I've heard of the group. FUW means For a United World. They're deeply rooted in Africa and Asia. Last I heard they were after engineers, biologists of all sorts, to have the best weapons and technology." He groaned and let his head fall into his hand. "I should have known they would want to go after Tony…"

"Why did SHIELD not hear from them?" Bruce wondered.

"I have no idea," Natasha answered. "Do you know where they're based?"

He sighed. "Do you really think the Army would have let that group roam around freely if they knew where they could find them?"

"Duly noted."

Silence fell while they were thinking it over, trying to find what they should do. Unfortunately they didn't have as much time as they might have wanted. Steve sighed. "They could be anywhere."

"They're not far from the States," Bruce countered. "They can't have moved too far away."

"We should set a perimeter around LA then. They might want to do it as quickly as possible, we're talking about Tony Stark here, one of the most famous persons not only in the States, but in the scientist world as well. They know we will search for him immediately and we're not going to be picky about the means we will use," Rhodes explained.

Steve raised an eyebrow. "How much are we talking about here?"

"As much as needed," Natasha replied.

"Then let's get going."

* * *

Cold seeped through him and sensation came back to him. Soft sounds and musty smell reached him. Slowly he became aware of where the cold came from and he tried to move away from the feeling on his face, but something held him back. He tried to figure out what it was and he realized after a few seconds it was warm and smooth, completely opposed to the cold and sticky sensation on the other side of his face. He focused on it, not quite sure of where he was, and what it was.

After another few seconds, his brain registered it was a hand – not just any hand, Pepper's. "Pep…" His voice was rough and his tongue felt dry and heavy, he had trouble breathing and speaking and he didn't know why. His mind was still fuzzy and he barely felt his body but somehow, somehow he knew it was probably a good thing for now.

"Shh… You're okay, Tony. I…" her voice was muffled and he could hear it; she'd cried – maybe still was. Her hand and the cold thing left his face. He tried opening his eyes, hating not being able to know what was going on around him.

It was hard but he managed to open them enough to discern forms and movements. Gradually his vision cleared and he started remembering. Malibu. The men. He tried to get away to warn Pepper and received a hit on the head after being tripped. Then… Pepper and they got there, wherever that was. And… _Yep, I knew I didn't want to feel my body,_ he thought as he remembered the short beating.

"Here. Drink this." A bottle was raised to his lips and she helped him, holding his head. "Easy, Tony." Her eyes were red and tears tracks decorated her cheeks. Her hair was damp and a real mess, and she looked pretty shaken. She was avoiding his eyes.

He closed his mouth, swallowing drily. "Pepper, look at me." She bit her lip and closed the bottle. "Pepper." She looked up at him and her blue eyes met his brown ones. "I'm fine, okay?"

"How can you say that?" her voice was shaking and she wrapped her arms around herself, looking away from him again. He made a face and looked up at his arms, still held up by that damn chain. He wanted nothing more than to hold her and tell her things would work out, just comfort her, instead he had to watch her suffer the same way she had to when those guys were there. "You… You…"

"Pepper," he said as firmly as he could. He was starting to feel the pain of his broken nose and his strained arms again. It was a matter of minutes before his rib and finger reminded him their presence as well. "I'm still alive and I'm not gonna die on you. " He moved a bit and winced. "Pep, look at me." She sniffed and turned her head back to him. "We're gonna get out of here. The Avengers and Rhodey and SHIELD, they're gonna find us."

She nodded, though fresh tears were gathering in her eyes. She stepped forward and put her head on his shoulder, her fingers closing in his shirt, clenching tightly while making sure not to hurt him. He put his head on hers and closed his eyes, breathing her in.

He hated it. There was nothing he could do to help her, to make sure she never had to go through this, because she may not be the one taking any blows, but he knew, _he knew_ each one he took was one on her too. She was strong, he knew that but knowing something might have happened and seeing, hearing it were two complete different things. And she may not be strong enough for this.

_Please, Steve, Bruce, Clint, Natasha, Thor, Rhodey, Fury, just hurry up,_ he silently pleaded, kissing the top of her head.

* * *

**Rhodey's finally here! What do you think of his reaction to the Avengers? What do you think about Tony and Pepper? About poor Tony who's taking quite a few punches? Review to tell me!**

**A bientôt!**

**AngelShep**


	10. Worthy

**Salut! Well here's the new chapter. I think this one is my favorite with Heartbreaking realizations. I loved writing it and I hope you will love reading it as well. **

**Time for more Tony-whump and a bit of Tony BAMF too because he deserves it. Enjoy!**

* * *

_**Worthy**_

The air escaped his lungs as the punch hit his chest – thankfully on his non-injured side. He doubted his ribs would have liked it very much otherwise. He caught himself praying at one point that the guy hit the reactor – would have been one hell of pain for the both of them but at least that stupid ass would have been hurt that was for sure. Pepper was in a corner, legs drawn to her body, arms around them, shaking as each sob tore through her body silently. He was starting to get tired of their games – and it was just the second session. He didn't know what they wanted from him but… He knew whatever it was he wouldn't like it and yet he would do it because he couldn't bear the sight of Pepper crying anymore. He could handle the beating but he couldn't handle this. His Pepper hurt, crumbling in front of his eyes.

If doing what they wanted allowed this to stop, he would do it in a heartbeat for her, no matter how much he would regret it, or how angry SHIELD and everyone else would be after.

"Lost your tongue, didn't ya?" The man chucked at him, smirk firmly in place. New punch. Something cracked.

He glared at him and spat. Blood hit him in the face and he flashed him a satisfied smile. "Never. Just don't like wasting my saliva on second-rank jerks, that's all."

There was a flash of light at the corner of his eye and he turned his head to see it better. The little light coming from the single bulb reflected off a blade, some knife – a pocket knife. He moved his eyes back to the person holding it and raised an eyebrow. He was in a daring mood, which may not have been a very good idea right now but he wasn't known for his self-preservation skills – quite the opposite actually.

The man raised the knife to his head, moving it slowly closer to him. He heard a sharp breath and they all froze. Tony's eyes flashed to Pepper who was looking with wide red eyes, a hand over her mouth, her head shaking from side to side as she took in the scene. The man glanced at her and tilted his head to the side.

And Tony started panicking because it was fine when it was all about him, but if they touched, if they went after _Pepper_. God he would lose it. He started moving and grabbed the chain, gritting his teeth when he shifted his broken finger. He held onto it and, taking a breath, ignoring the pain in his arms and chest, he raised his legs and hit the man square on the chest while he was distracted.

That hurt like _hell_ – he couldn't breathe anymore, he felt like his whole body was on fire and his chest weighed a _ton_ and… his vision was blurry, he heard a crash but then… there was a yell, his head was yanked back, not helping his case. Dark spots danced in front of his eyes and then he may have missed something – momentarily passing out, just a few seconds – because the next thing he knew there was something cold under his eyes, on his cheek – cutting.

"You little piece of shit, you're gonna regret doing this, I swear." He felt the skin break under the pressure, the blade moving down the curve of his cheek, leaving a bleeding gash behind. "I'm sure you don't need that pretty face so much…"

The blade moved back up. The tip was just next to his eye, he could feel it but he still couldn't see and the pain was too much, just so much and he still couldn't breathe. Completely off-track and irrelevantly, he thought maybe if he wasn't a genius, he may not get all of that, maybe he would have already passed out completely if his brain wasn't always working overtime and now… now he was going to… To do what?

"You can work with just one eye…" Glinting in front of his eye, he caught his breath. No, no, no, no, _no!_ He couldn't – he needed. A sob broke out somewhere – Pepper. He wasn't thinking straight – he had to do something.

"No! Tony!" A cry, desperate. Pepper, Pepper… God, no, no, no.

"Enough!" This seemed to clear his mind a bit. It was someone behind him. His vision was still dancing and the pain was still unbearable and he still had trouble breathing. He was panting and his chest was heavy – his mind was screaming at him to get oxygen in his damn brain but his lungs weren't responding well. Or was it his mouth or nose or chest? He didn't know. He needed to get a grip back on himself _now_. "Get out."

Focus. That was what he needed to do. Focus. Push the pain at the back of his mind and _think_. He was good at thinking. But then a new pain tore at his arm and this time, _this time_, he screamed – it was short and turned into a groan almost instantly, but he still screamed despite the fact he swore to himself not to give them that pleasure. He felt the muscle get torn as a blade was dragged down the entire length from his elbow to his shoulder, piercing through the skin, drawing warm blood, way too deep in his arm and god that _fucking_ hurt.

"I said _get out_." The voice was cold and almost angry. But he couldn't focus on it. The pain was too much.

And suddenly his whole body was lowered, his feet touched the ground completely, his legs bent because they couldn't hold his weight. He felt arms around his waist, helping him up a bit. His arms weren't above him anymore, he was dragged somewhere – the wall, he could feel it in his back. He was sitting on the floor – cold, so cold against his warm skin. He was sweating, he was hot – there was something cool and warm on his face.

He blinked and his vision cleared a bit. Red sticky messy hair, pale dirty face with tears tracks, blue eyes, warm, worried, loving – Pepper. "You're okay, it's going to be alright. They'll find us, just hold on Tony, _please_." He moved with difficulty his right hand up and put it on her cheek. He wiped the tear leaking from her eye with his thumb and tugged at her face, making her understand he wanted her to move closer. Finally he could touch her. He had wanted to for _so _long, ever since the whole thing started, to comfort, to feel she was unharmed and safe and _real_. Her lips reached his and it felt so good and so wrong. She shouldn't be here with him, she should be home, worrying yes, but without knowing what he was going through.

She pulled away and his vision darkened again. It wasn't black spots anymore. It was dancing lights in the middle of the dark. And suddenly it wasn't lights but stars he was seeing. The dark wasn't his vision failing him but the dark sky of a June night. Those blue eyes weren't Pepper's but someone else's. Blue eyes with blond hair and a taller build than his.

He was far from that place and Pepper's voice faded. He was at the top of Stark Tower, looking over New York, listening to the sounds of the city that never sleeps. His left hand is wrapped around a glass he hasn't touched yet. The chill June midnight air's blowing around him, cooling his warm skin after he worked in the workshop till he couldn't think anymore. It's been seven weeks since the Battle of Manhattan as the press had called it. Bruce, Clint and Natasha are in the Tower, probably already asleep. Rogers arrived earlier in the day after his trip around the country to see what had changed.

He's not used to it yet. Having people around – more than just Pepper. It's… different. He never really knew what it felt like. His father wasn't around enough for him to know and his mother, when she was there, wasn't as warm and _mother-like_ as one should expect. He was closer to Jarvis and their good old New Orleans cleaning lady Rose than his own parents. What did that say about him really?

He exhaled deeply and rubbed a tired hand over his face. He should probably get to bed. He hasn't slept in the last thirty-seven hours and if it's far from being the longest he stayed up in his life, it's still more than he did ever since he's with Pepper – she made sure his old stubborn unhealthy habits got forgotten. It's a good change so he doesn't complain. It's nice to get to bed and wrap his arms around her, have her warm body against his, or eat with her, whether it's a ridiculous sandwich or a full meal. That may have been what he missed during his whole life. Someone to share everything with. If so, he's glad he finally has it.

He heard footsteps behind him and glanced over his shoulder to see Steve joining him on the balcony. He walked to him and stopped a foot or two away, leaning on the rail just as he was. "It's a nice view."

He chuckled. "Really, Cap? Small talk?" He was more tired than he thought if he found himself almost giggling to the idea of making small talk with Captain America on his balcony past midnight.

The soldier shrugged sheepishly and slightly blushed. "I… I want to thank you for… this. Offering us a roof. You didn't have to."

He shrugged and looked down at his glass. "No prob. I have more room than I need." It wasn't supposed to sound as sad as it did somehow. God was he tired if his voice betrayed him so easily.

He saw him nod in the corner of his eyes. "Still. Thank you." Good thing the Captain chose to ignore it.

"You're welcome, I guess." He raised the glass to his lips and took a sip, letting the scotch slip down his throat, not even feeling the burning anymore – he was too used to it by now.

"I was wrong." Tony snapped his attention back to America's favorite hero and raised an eyebrow at him. He had no idea what he was talking about. "I never cleared the air between us. When I left after the battle, we didn't talk and I… I didn't apologize for what I said on the Helicarrier."

Ah. That. He waved a disinterested hand. "It's fine. I wasn't nice either. You're not just an experiment lab, Cap."

The captain smiled a bit. "Why aren't you letting me apologize?"

He sighed and made a sweeping gesture, turning fully to him. "Suit yourself then Capsicle."

He shook his head and crossed his arms, smile still tugging at his lips. "You never do take things seriously, don't you?"

He raised his eyebrows. "And here I thought you wanted to apologize." He sighed dramatically and put his empty hand over his heart. "My, my, captain, you can fool a man with your whole goody two-shoes attitude." _Rule number one: never go into a battle of wits with him. _He thought the Captain had learned about it – you can't expect to win even when he's half dead on his feet.

He rolled his eyes. "Point and case, I see. Really Stark, can we be serious for two minutes?"

"Fine, kill-joy." He gestured at himself. "This is the serious me and he's all ears. Shoot."

He sighed, but thought better this time and didn't say anything more about it. _Hey maybe he was getting the number one rule!_ "You're a hero. As much as the rest of us. You proved me wrong and I shouldn't have made assumptions. You were willing to sacrifice yourself and… Out of all us, I'm realizing you were the one that had the most to lose."

Tony frowned then. "What do you mean? We all have…" He was blaming his lack of understanding on his sleep-deprived self.

"I was frozen for seventy years. I have nothing left in this world. Bruce… Bruce lost everything when his experimentation turned wrong. Natasha and Clint are with SHIELD because they don't have anything to lose in the first place."

"They do – each other," he interrupted, tilting his glass a bit in the direction of the tower where only the light from the bar was on. At Steve's skeptical look, he added: "It's obvious in the way they look at each other. Anyway, go on."

Steve nodded. "Thor… Well Thor may have things to lose but he's… It's different for him because he's a God I guess, he may not have died – Loki didn't after all." He pointed at him. "That left you."

"Yep, I figured that out too. I'm kinda not bad at math, you know. Six minus five equals one – me." He couldn't help himself really, he had to add something. And it was so easy to infuriate the good captain.

He rolled his eyes again. "You have a life, Tony. You have your company, people that count on you, and you have friends – I heard you talk with that Happy guy and Natasha said something about a colonel. And you have miss Potts."

"Pepper," he rectified. He knew where Steve was going, really. He just didn't want to hear it.

"Pepper." He took a step forward. "You were ready to sacrifice all of this to save everyone in New York."

He looked away, shifting slightly on his feet. He didn't do feelings and all the emotional crap and talk for nothing. He wasn't good at it and just avoided it as much as possible. That was the number two rule when it came to him. There was a reason why Pepper and him didn't really talk about feelings and just went with the stream – he was shitty at it and Pepper was perfect that way because she knew him and didn't need him to talk about it to know it was there. That didn't mean that one day he wouldn't just jump that big bump and talk feelings but right now they were both happy with what they had.

"Stark? Stark? You still there?" _Oops, way to get distracted, genius_, he reprimanded himself, turning his attention back to Rogers;

"What?"

The soldier took a step back in surprise at his tone. "You… You zoned out on me for a moment."

"Yeah, that happens. Genius here," he gestured at his brain, "it means I have many things in my head and I get sidetracked."

Steve raised a bewildered eyebrow but didn't say anything about his explanation – which was good cause he was aware it was bad. "So… thank you again. And well… I'm sorry for all I said. Underneath the suit there is a person worth knowing."

Brown eyes snapped to blue _earnest_ ones at that. And didn't that make him feel stupidly happy and warm and… _No he wasn't fuzzy inside_. But truth was he was. Because it was one of the nicest things someone had ever told him and it came from the one person he had admired when he was a child before he started resenting him for having the attention of his father even when he was supposed to be dead. It shouldn't be so important to him, and yet it was.

During all those years of the media turning him into a despicable man, of his own self-degrading thoughts and feelings, he really ended up believing all of it. He wasn't really all that shocked that people didn't see him as a hero. He wasn't one. He had killed thousands of people through his weapons and then with his own hands when he turned Iron Man. He didn't regret it, he didn't feel sorry for them (the ones he killed through Iron Man, not the others).

But never would he have thought someone would one day tell him he was worth knowing. He couldn't see his own worth past the things he created, past his brain, so really he didn't expect anyone to see something worthy in him. But somehow Steve Rogers, perfect little soldier, too good and nice and innocent, saw something.

"Stark?"

He snapped his gaze away from those piercing eyes and emptied his glass in one go. He nodded curtly. "Apology accepted, Rogers. Now if you don't mind, I'm gonna go to bed. It's been a long day." _And a too emotional one_.

He didn't stay for a reply and left the balcony. He put the glass down on the bar and walked to the elevator, back stiff, thoughts churning in his brain.

"Tony? Please Tony, say something, move, I don't know, just… _give me something_, anything." This was… This was Pepper. Why… It came back to him with the pain and he groaned, closing his eyes tightly. "Tony, I'm here, hold on. They'll come, they'll find us."

He felt her hands on his face and believed her. They will come, yes. He trusted them on that. They will come.

Because along the way he got into their heart and they got into his. Because along the way they thought he was worthy and they made him believe it.

And he finally fell unconscious.

* * *

Clint whistled when he closed the door of their car, looking over in the direction of the Malibu mansion. He knew Tony's love for big modern houses but this… This was better than the Tower – more peaceful, more lonely, and with a wonderful view. This was his dream house.

"It's nice, isn't it?" Rhodes said while walking to the front door. They had decided to go from there and then moved out in all directions if needed. "I remember when Tony built it."

"You mean he was…"

"Partly. He worked with some architects and workers, but yeah he helped build it. This," he gestured at the house, "was what he wanted."

"Well it's great," Clint finished, following the colonel inside. The others followed as well, everyone except for Natasha looking in awe at the house.

"Jarvis?" Rhodes called upon entering. The door closed on its own behind them.

"Hello colonel, it is a pleasure to hear you despite the circumstances." Jarvis sounded genuinely pleased but they could hear the underlined worried tone – which showed just how much of a genius Tony was to make an AI capable of _emotions_. Of all Tony's creations, Clint thought Jarvis was the most impressive one by far. Then it was Iron Man and the reactor. But the AI was definitively at the top to him.

He smiled bitterly. "You too Jarvis, you too. Do you have anything for us?"

They all installed themselves on the cream sofas around the coffee table and mentally prayed for a positive answer because it would save them so much more time. "I may have a possible location, colonel." The hesitant tone of the AI made them all pause.

"Jarvis, what is it? How do you… know?" Steve asked, frowning.

"Sir has… Sir has a GPS unit inside…" A new hesitation but Rhodes seemed to understand what was going on – he knew Tony and Jarvis the best after all.

"Of course, God Tony you're a genius…" He let out a humorless, short, slightly hysterical laugh, throwing his head back. The Avengers exchanged a look in concern. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to team up with a crazy man…

"Could you explain?" Bruce asked.

"The one thing no one would ever take away from Tony because it would completely go against their original goal?" he questioned, raising expecting eyebrows.

"The reactor," Natasha breathed out. "He put a GPS in the reactor?"

"Not in the arc reactor itself, miss Romanoff, but in the cavity that contains it." Jarvis' voice was filled with smugness and Clint couldn't help but smile, because really he had every reason to be proud of his creator. Tony was a real genius, a damn resourceful one when he wanted to be.

"Does this mean we know where our friend Stark is?" Thor asked, standing up, head held high.

"A four miles wide perimeter is what I can give you, colonel. I cannot hope to reduce it any further." Jarvis sounded sorry, but it was so much better than what they had when they came in that a four miles circle was the best thing they heard of all day.

"Jarvis, it's _perfect_. Thank you." They all stood up and the colonel immediately started moving.

He walked to the stairs near the little fountain/fall thing Clint couldn't believe was actually there because it was ridiculous but nice in a strange Stark-way. He went down and they all followed him, only to raise eyebrows when they discovered it led to Tony's lab. Why would he go there?

He pushed into a code and opened the glass doors. He navigated between the desks and different machines with ease, letting the others look around at the old armors behind the windows and the several computers suspended everywhere. They saw the small kitchen area in a corner and the couch with a TV and then…

"Shit, those are the most awesome cars I've ever seen, why can't he have them back in New York?" Clint exclaimed, gaping at the sight of the dozens of classical, luxury and sports cars.

"I know, they're great." Rhodes walked to one black Jaguar and raised an eyebrow. "I'm not going to wait any longer than I have to to get there."

"You're gonna take one of the cars?" Steve let out bewildered by his nerve.

Natasha held up her phone. "I'm calling SHIELD for a quinjet. It'll be quicker than any car here." Clint shook his head.

"No way am I going into the quinjet if I can borrow one of those little jewels."

"You can't. But if you want to, you can come with me into this one." Clint crossed his arms and looked back at Rhodes.

"Why can't I take one and you can?"

"I can't take any car. Just this one. Birthday gift from Tony. I let it here because it's safer than my home," he explained, shrugging.

"The quinjet is on its way. Are you done gossiping like girls?" Natasha asked, tilting her head to the side, an eyebrow raised, eyes looking between the two of them.

Clint shrugged and joined the colonel's side. "I'm going with him." He opened the passenger door. "See you there."

They both got in and the colonel started up the car. The humming of the motor filled the silence and Rhodes smirked, feeling the car answering under his hands and feet. Clint inhaled the smell of leather and what he usually associated with luxury and smiled, relaxing in the comfortable seat. With the roar of the motor, the car moved swiftly and sped out of the garage, the door opening automatically thanks to Jarvis.

In a matter of seconds they were speeding across the roads of the Californian coast, going North where Tony and Pepper were.

"A birthday gift?"

He made a face. "I turned forty two years ago. Tony thought it needed to be a big thing."

"It must be nice. I mean… you know if you have any problem money-wise Tony will help you in a blink."

Rhodes glanced at him. "Yeah, That's Tony. Not just money you know. Anything really. If I get so much as a reprimand in my file, you can be sure he'll erase it in seconds without you knowing he did it. He just… He's not good at the friends thing and at the same time he does things right."

Clint hummed in agreement. He understood what he meant perfectly. The genius had taken them all inside his home, which was something so right and nice, but they hadn't seen him for days on end after they had all come in because he was avoiding them. And yet there were little signs that showed he wasn't full on rejecting them: new uniforms (stronger, more flexible) for all of them, new blades and guns for Natasha, some basics phones or computers with detailed directions for Steve and Thor, new arrows for him. He had come to get Tony could do everything a friend would do, but he needed time to actually face and trust them.

Which made what they did even worse.

"That's why I'm mad at you for what you did." The archer turned his head back to the colonel, wondering if he read his thoughts somehow. "Tony learned a long time ago he couldn't trust anyone just because they asked for it. It's…" He shook his head, taking a sharp turn at seventy miles per hour. Clint grabbed the door's handle and held on. "It's not easy to live with him and he can be reckless and he _does_ do things that could get himself killed. There's no denying that."

He sighed. Somehow Clint wondered if the colonel was really talking to him or just saying things to fill the silence. He didn't seem to register his presence anymore, more lost in his thoughts and focused on his driving – very similar to Tony's, there – than on his surroundings.

"But that's because we can't understand. That's why I can't believe Banner did that. The man is intelligent. He works with Tony, he should have known better." He ran a hand over his head, before putting it back on the wheel. "Imagine an ants' nest and multiply it by ten and you get the idea of what Tony's mind is." Clint widened his eyes. No way. "It was worse when he was in MIT because back then he had nowhere to put every thought he had." He snorted. "He's a genius, damn it, maybe you should get that inside your head. Where you can see ten possibilities, he sees a thousand and acts on the one that will have the best result. He doesn't care if it means people are gonna get angry at him for doing something he wasn't supposed to do – he knows better."

Clint nodded and looked out through the window, watching the hills flying by. He was finally understanding Tony better and he wondered how they could have missed it – didn't he say it enough he was a genius? Didn't he tell them more than once that he got sidetracked because of everything always running through his mind?

_We'll find you, Tony, and I swear we won't make the same mistake twice_, he vowed.

* * *

**And voilà! What do you think? Like it, hate it? What do you think is next? **

**Please review!**

**AngelShep**


	11. Making Plans

**Hello, hello! Here's the new chapter! This one's pretty calm, things escalate and will lead to the next one which is full of action. :D You're finally learning more about who's behind Tony and Pepper's kidnapping and the why (no I hadn't forgotten about it). :)**

**Oh and after last chapter where Tony was talking with Steve, here's one where he might not be as nice to the poor captain. ^^ You're warned.**

**Thank you all for your reviews and for reading. I'm not goign to make you wait any longer, enjoy !**

* * *

_**Making Plans**_

A little boy ran inside a room but stopped short at the door when he realized his father was talking over the phone. He was standing in front of his desk, turned sideways, back to the door and slightly bent. He seemed full of relief and there was an air of hope about him.

The little boy bit his lip and grabbed the handle of the door, hesitating. He knew his father didn't like it when he interrupted him. His eyes moved around, taking in the mahogany pieces of furniture – the desk on which dozens of papers and wires and pieces of circuit boards and other computer elements were lying around, the buffet with its windows behind which bottles of scotch and whiskey and bourbon could be seen, the bookcase where only scientific volumes could be found. He knew it by heart for having been here many times to borrow those very books and study them from cover to cover without his parents knowing it. How could they when they never paid him any attention?

"This is fantastic, I do not care whether we find a body or a piece of the plane. It will still be so much more than what we have today." He could recognize the tone of voice his father was using. He was happy about something.

It was good for him: it meant his father had not been drinking and would not just ignore him or yell at him to leave him alone. This was great. But it also meant his father would be excited about something else and wouldn't have time for him. As usual.

"I just need closure. I just want to know what happened to Steve, whether he is alive or dead… Not knowing is what's killing me." A sigh and then his father straightened. "I am coming. This is a new lead, consider me already on my way."

He hung up and turned around, raising a surprised eyebrow when he saw his son standing by the door. "Dad, I want to show you something I…"

"I don't have time, I have to go Tony," he dismissed him immediately, recovering from his surprise and walking towards him.

Tony raised his head to keep on looking at his father's face. "But it'll only take a few minutes…"

"Then it can wait until I am back." He patted his head when he passed next to him and left the office, leaving his son behind.

Tony looked down and nodded. He should have known but he still tried anyway. He walked out and turned to head back to his room when he saw his mother walking down the stairs, dressed in a stunning long red dress, hair pulled up in a tight bun, golden jewels glistening in the lights of the hall. Tony broke into a smile – maybe his mom would have time to see his latest creation.

"Mom, mom! Can I show you something?"

Her mother looked at him with a sad smile and crouched down with difficulty because of the way she was dressed. "I'm sorry Tony, I have a charity dinner tonight. My chauffeur is already there waiting for me. You can show me tomorrow, can't you, my boy?"

His little shoulders fell but he nodded. His mother kissed his cheek and walked past him. Tony moved forward and went upstairs. He opened the door to his room and closed behind him. He kneeled in front of his toy – the one he wanted to show his parents. He knew it wasn't much, he knew it was ridiculous really but he just wanted his father to look at him and say he did good. Was it really too much to ask for?

He figured he should be used to it. His parents only seemed to pay him attention when he did big things that would end up splashed on newspaper or magazines. They didn't care about the toys he built. Really what was a helicopter that could fly around his room controlled through a remote? It wouldn't make them proud. It was just a childish toy.

He grabbed the remote and turned it on. Slowly the rotors started turning and the helicopter took off. He moved it around for a few seconds before disregarding it completely, letting it fly in mid-air. He turned his attention to his bed and stood up.

He knew who Steve was. Steve Rogers.

Captain America.

He grabbed the rag doll of Captain America, the one gift his father had given him and he always cherished because this was something they had in common, this was something that would make his father spend time with him, telling stories upon stories about the soldier, the friend he'd lost all those years ago. He loved hearing those stories because Steve Rogers was a hero and he admired him but… Slowly resentment had started creeping up on him. Slowly the man he admired had begun to be hated. Because this man was more important to his father than he was. And _he_ was here, alive and trying so _hard_ to be what his father wanted him to be.

He was blaming it on the fact he was too smart for his age. He could be happily ignorant and keep on enjoying the little time he had with his father. He knew he was a busy man because he was an important person but he couldn't understand why he would spend more time on the search of a man who disappeared almost forty years before instead of with him.

His fingers squeezed the doll, tears springing to his eyes. He knew now. His father would never look at him with the pride he wanted, nor the joy – those were for Steve Rogers.

He walked to his desk and threw _Captain America_ in the garbage can. He turned on his heels and climbed into his bed, grabbing his pillow and cried into it.

Tony was nine years old and it was the last time he cried over his father.

Harsh sobs shook his body. His breathing was sharp and each breath was short and painful on his chest.

He blinked, eyelids fluttering as pain flared inside him when someone grabbed his right arm and pulled him onto his feet. His breath caught in his throat and he coughed, each time more painful.

He tried focusing on his surroundings, pulling himself away from the memory that sprung itself up on him. Now wasn't the time to reminisce his damn issues with his father and the lingering feelings of resentment he held for Steve.

"Stop! Go easy, he has trouble breathing!" That voice finally tore him away from his fuzzy mind and he opened his eyes enough to recognize the room they had been in for hours – days? Three men and Pepper, one was holding him upright, another was pointing a gun at the redhead while holding her arm and the last one was waiting by the door.

His vision cleared, his breath came back to normal – or as normal as it could be when he had several broken ribs (two for sure on his left side, maybe one on his right, he wasn't sure), a broken nose and split lips – and the arc reactor wasn't helping his case at all but he wasn't about to complain about it. He stumbled a few times before the man holding him understood he couldn't keep on pulling him the way he was doing and slowed down enough he could actually walk.

They turned several times in different corridors and Tony tried to memorize the way – it could be helpful when they will escape thanks to a wonderful plan he will design once he knew what they wanted from him.

Suddenly they were in a room and he was forced to sit down on a chair. He kept his eyes on his hands on his lap, trying to get his breathing back under control. But it was just an excuse for him to discreetly analyze the situation. A table was in front of him with a computer – a keyboard, a wireless mouse, a flat screen and a tower on the ground. Behind it were two men he vaguely recognized, regarding him with a strange glint in their eyes. At their right was Pepper and the same man still threatening her – the message was clear: try anything and there would be a bullet in her brain. On each side of him there was a man, not that he knew why they thought he was still a threat when he could hardly stand up alone – which unnerved him more than anything, he _loathed_ being so weak.

They were inside a rather large room with a high ceiling. There were windows on the top of the walls which allowed the room to be luminous. From what he could gather judging by the shadows and the angle of the sun he could see through them, it was mid-morning. Now he could finally have a notion of time. The two guys behind the table didn't seem to have guns and they didn't seem to be guards of any sort, he couldn't quite yet place them but it was a matter of time. The men around him were armed and they weren't hiding it at all.

Pepper seemed fine. Now that he could actually see her better thanks to the light he could see the way she shook slightly but still held it together – because she was strong, his strong beautiful and stubborn girlfriend he loved so much. Her clothes were a mess and dirty and her hair could use several showers but she was fine, she looked good and there was no bruises, no scratches, _nothing_ and this was the best news he ever had in his life.

He raised his head, now he had gathered everything he could and managed to focus enough the pain seemed a far away memory, some nagging feeling at the back of his brain he could ignore as long as he made sure to not move too much and not take deep breaths that would jar his ribs.

_Yep, Tony Stark was back in the game_.

"Mister Stark, I am sure you know Thomas Lang and Paul Gold." Go figure the man orchestrating the whole thing would always stay behind him where he would never see him.

His eyes moved to the two men he thought he knew and he smirked a bit. Thomas Lang, famous geneticist for his great progress in creating new genes – until his latest project was exposed to the world. The man didn't look like much. He was dressed in a wrinkled white shirt and black pants, little glasses were posed on a nose too big for his round pale face. His little piggy eyes were fixed on him and a small smug smile was on his lips as he held up his chin. _Yeah buddy you're a real impressive guy, I'm scared shitless_, Tony thought, mentally rolling his eyes.

Paul Gold was specialized in computing, if he remembered well. Like the doctor Thomas Lang, he was renowned in the world for his work until he decided to show his supremacy to everyone. He was a tall and lean man with tan skin and regal features. His blond hair was combed back and his blue eyes were staring him down, a displeased pout to his lips. His three-piece suit was perfect, without the slightest crumpling or crease as if it was brand new. The guy looked completely out of place in the middle of the filthy and old room.

There were suddenly the sound and feel of a breath beside his ear and he had to restrain a flinch in surprise. When did that man arrive there? "Now as I am sure you are wondering, I will tell you what you have to do. Any attempt at fooling us will result in the death of the lovely miss Potts, and wouldn't that be a shame, mister Stark?" He glanced briefly at Pepper who was clenching her fists by her side, blue eyes blazing as she stared at the man just behind him. He had to restrain himself from smiling at the sight.

"Got it," he breathed out.

"Good." Fingers gripped his hair and pulled his head a bit back – but not enough for him to actually see the man. He was sure he was going to end bald by the end of that thing from the number of times they pulled at them. "You are going to write a program that will allow me the pleasure to control every robotic and computer system in the world."

Tony widened his eyes a bit. He couldn't do that. The stocks, the banks, the agencies, the governments, the criminal records, _everything_ was run by informatics nowadays. To give that kind of power to someone…

"I can't…" He didn't finish his sentence because his head was suddenly slammed forward on the edge of the desk. He groaned when his hair was released and raised his right hand – the one that miraculously escaped everything intact – to his head, frowning when he felt the warm liquid slipping between his fingers. They were so stupid really – how did they expect him to do anything if he ended up with a concussion or a monstrous headache because of the way they treated his head?

"I took control of every chirurgical robot in the US a few months ago thanks to a program I created, mister Stark, and I am nowhere near your level. I heard you can hack into anything."

He raised his eyes to Gold. He knew his story. He did that and got caught. He was struck off the scientific register and managed to escape prison by disappearing off the radar. He had been lucky that time but if he thought he could just casually mention the fact he had almost killed two people that were in the middle of an extremely delicate operation, then Tony would make sure the man ended up in jail for the rest of his life.

"Hacking isn't taking control."

"But it's the next step," the man behind him said. "I am confident in your abilities. A genius such as you cannot not overcome this challenge."

"How should I call you? I mean, calling you 'the man' in my head's getting tiring you know."

He swore he could hear the man smirk. "Call me Victor."

"Great. Fancy meeting you here."

A hand was put on his shoulder and he turned his head to look down at it. Dark skin, five fingers – middle finger missing a phalanx. "Get to work mister Stark and then miss Potts will go on her merry way." He decided to risk everything and turned his head to get a look at the man.

The reaction was immediate and a slap to his face made it wipe on the other side. But he wasn't a genius for nothing and that second had been enough for his eyes to register a few details: pepper-and-salt hair, brown complexion, bright eyes (blue or green but he would have needed a second longer to get the color), but above all there was a scar running across his right eye from his forehead to his cheekbone. That was a distinctive enough sign for him.

He was feeling very satisfied with himself.

He heard a door close behind him and noticed the two men that were by his sides were gone. They finally realized he wasn't a big enough threat to have two guards with him. He made his jaw work a bit before putting his hands over the keyboard. His left hand's little finger was a blue and red big gross mass of skin that would definitively slow him down in the process of writing their stupid program: 1-0 for him. The gash in his upper left arm that prevented him from moving his arm too much was also a point in his favor. His troubled breathing and the urges to cough that would take him by surprise were another.

The gun on Pepper's temple was one on their side, that may count double if not more.

Closing his eyes briefly, he took a short shallow breath and started typing.

But no chance of him completely being submissive. "So how did it feel to be struck off by your fellow coworkers?"

Gold moved around the table and bent at his side, letting an arm slide on the back of his chair while he put his other hand on the table next to the keyboard. But Tony didn't pay him any mind. He was focused on the computer screen and Lang, who was nervously clenching and unclenching his hands as a scornful grimace took over his face. _Lang is the easy prey, I have to make him lose it_, Tony thought to himself as a plan started to form in his mind.

"You don't know anything," he grunted out between clenched teeth.

Tony raised an eyebrow, still typing away. He noticed the guard making Pepper sit on a chair at the edge of the desk and positioning himself on her left side and his as well. _Good_. "You were rejected by everyone after your work on _babies_ was discovered. You tried to manipulate their DNA to combine it with animals. It was so bad all articles about you were instantly destroyed and erased worldwide. I know all about _you_, Doctor Thomas Lang."

Gold suddenly put the fingers hovering over his left arm on the gash and pushed. Tony gritted his teeth and stopped typing to clench his right hand as pain shot through him. "I don't think miss Potts needs her little finger, do you?" The guard suddenly grabbed Pepper's right hand and a knife appeared out of nowhere. She tried to shake him off but Lang slapped her.

"I get it, I get it, alright. I'm shutting up, leave her alone."

He let go of her hand and the fingers pressing on his arm disappeared. "I knew all the rumors about you incapable of listening weren't true. You _do _listen." He patted his cheek and Tony had to swallow the urge to bite his fingers off when they came close to his mouth – that would have felt so good but he knew it wasn't a good idea. "Now work."

Oh work he will, but it was going to be more on the plan unfolding in his head than the program they expected from him and he had the perfect excuse: it was long, difficult to write and he only had one hand in full capacity because of their minions – he wasn't to blame if he was extraordinarily slow, was he?

* * *

"That's the only place left."

"Seems abandoned enough to me to be turned into a secret base."

It had taken them four hours to search the four-miles circle and this was the last place which meant it had to be the right one, otherwise they didn't know what they would do. It was already mid-afternoon and it had been forty-three hours since they went missing. They couldn't waste any more time and they needed to find them now. Too many things could happen in that time and possibilities were running in their head even though they tried to keep at bay the most they could – they couldn't afford to get distracted by that.

In those four hours, they had learned more about the colonel and his friendship with Tony. Rhodes would hesitate when telling them stories sometimes but they still learned things they wouldn't have expected. Like the fact Tony was bullied in MIT. That had shocked them all at first but then it had made sense: Tony had been young, only fifteen when he got in, and he was the son of Howard Stark – he was an easy target and people could easily fall for the whole 'here because of his father's money' thing.

They were more than happy to know Rhodes had protected him back then.

The colonel had many anecdotes that made them laugh because it was hard to picture – Tony's first try at alcohol being one (who would have thought he had spit it out in disgust when now he drank it like water?). It was good to hear about Tony through someone else.

It also made them want to find him even more so that they could hear _his_ version of the stories.

"Jarvis, is there anything you can tell us?" Rhodes asked.

He was in the suit, the colors identical to Steve's own uniform. His faceplate was up and he was looking at the warehouse with trepidation and worry. Natasha supposed they all were.

She looked back down at the guns in her hands, checking one last time they were fully loaded and ready to be used. "There are people inside the warehouse. They occupy all rooms it seemed. I don't detect anything else, colonel."

Natasha looked back up at the colonel and saw him frowning. Clint was the one who voiced what they were thinking. "It's too easy. I mean why go to the trouble of taking Tony and Pepper if it's for making it that easy to get them back once we found them?" He snorted. "They do know we fought an army of aliens right?"

The colonel put his faceplate down. "Jarvis, heat sensors please."

Natasha raised an eyebrow. Did he think there was something they couldn't see? The gasp he let out was answer enough. "What is it?" Steve asked.

"There's about twenty something around the warehouse. Six feet tall, they look humans."

They glanced at each other. "Do you think they could be those things that attack Dallas?" Clint wondered.

Bruce sighed. "Tony called them DASC."

"He said there was a switch on their back. If hit there, they would become visible," Natasha recalled.

"You're all forgetting one thing," Steve stopped them, rolling his shoulders. "The acid. Bruce you saw the results of Tony's analysis. What was it?"

He made a face. "Something bad?" he tried, looking hesitant, raising an eyebrow. When he saw the pointed looks they threw at him, he sighed and shook his head. "A mix between very dangerous acids when they're on their own. In clear, don't let it touch you at all." He turned to the colonel and added, pointing a finger at him. "That goes for you too. Tony had a hole in his leg where a _drop_ had touched him, don't try anything stupid."

The soldier in armor nodded, cold and lifeless eyes moving back to the warehouse. "Weren't they giants?" Thor suddenly asked, remembering a particular detail.

The Avengers frowned. "They were," Clint acquiesced, gripping his bow.

"Those ones aren't," the colonel pointed – he was the only one who could see them.

Natasha looked at Clint, raising an eyebrow. He looked at her with a bewildered look for a second before his eyes widened as he suddenly got what she was telling him. "I… I have them somewhere." He looked in his pockets and finally found a pair of sunglasses. He took off the ones he had and put the new ones over his nose. He then turned to look at the field and smirked. "Definitively not giants."

Steve put a hand on his shoulder. "You can see them?"

"Yes, I can see where they are and how they're moving – that doesn't mean I can see what they actually look like though." He grimaced. "Which may not be a bad thing if I recall."

"What's the plan?" The colonel asked. "We're only two actually capable of seeing them and we need to get a move on as quickly as possible."

Natasha watched him and the way he was straightening, fists clenched by his sides. His eyes were fixed on the warehouse and his voice had been tight. He was itching to get on with the saving and see Tony and Pepper, have them back. They were all but they hid it better than the colonel. It was just another reminder that he wasn't Tony.

Because Tony was good at hiding his emotions, maybe too good really.

So good it wasn't hard to forget how vulnerable he could be, especially when he would walk around in the suit, so big and armed and protected and somehow almost _invincible_. But Tony was a civilian first and foremost. He was an inventor, someone that didn't go on battlefields. He was capable of taking care of himself, of saving himself by his sheer intelligence, but he couldn't defend himself as much as Clint or her would. He didn't have any super strength like Thor and Steve. He didn't have an indestructible counterpart like Bruce.

He just had his hands, his words and his brain.

He could throw a few good punches, could run and hit back – Natasha would never dare believe he was helpless because it was far from true – but he didn't have any training that would make him able to fight against more than three or four opponents at the same time.

That made him one of the bravest men Natasha knew because he wouldn't hesitate to go help people if they were under attack right in front of him even if he didn't have his suit.

And she knew not to underestimate the sheer stubbornness, the raw determination, the true belief Tony had in what was right and wrong because those were his strength more than his body ever will. And if you added his mind to it, then you had someone she wouldn't want as an enemy.

And those people had just done that. They didn't know what they got coming their way in the form of a grand, astonishing, formidable, powerful wave of breathtaking intelligence.

"Guys," she called. They turned to her and she smiled. "I have a plan."

* * *

**Voilà! What did you think about little Tony? The kidnappers? What do you think is Tony's plan? Natasha's? Did you like it?**

**Review please!**

**AngelShep**


	12. Breaking Into Action

**Hi! Okay, so here it is. New chapter, full of action. And... please don't hate me, alright? You'll get what I mean later...**

* * *

_**Breaking Into Action…**_

Tony's body was racked by a violent cough, his breathing stopping as he raised his right hand to his lips. Pepper winced, almost feeling his pain as each sharp cough tore through him. She was tired of just listening and watching him suffer. She felt so helpless… She was supposed to be strong, to be there for him and the only thing she had been since this whole thing started was a liability. She was aware of the continuous threat they threw at him using her.

The man – Gold – grabbed Tony's hair – again – and pulled his head back. He choked and she saw the blood on his hand and in his mouth. He was coughing blood. And he couldn't breathe. And that – jerk – thought he could just – She wanted to scream in rage.

She couldn't hold it back anymore.

"Stop it, you idiot, can't you see he can't breathe!" she screamed, moving forward on the edge of her seat, eyes blazing on Gold.

A surprise look appeared on his face and he let Tony go. She held back a sigh of relief, knowing it may not help as Tony started breathing slowly, wrapping his right arm around his chest. The other man – Lang – looked at her with wide eyes and seemed to really _see_ her for the first time. And that made her feel oh so good because she wasn't a helpless damsel in distress that needed to be saved. She could hold her own, thank you very much.

"Well, well, well… Who would have thought miss Potts could show some resistance." She was going to kill him herself for his condescending tone, his haughty look and air, his thinking he could hurt Tony and get away with it. She wasn't about to just let them go with it any longer. Tony glanced at her and she understood what he wanted her to do immediately. This was the moment he had been waiting for to throw his plan into action. She had no idea what he was planning, but he needed her to do something now.

"You don't know me at all if you think I'm gonna sit there any longer, let me tell you you're very wrong." On those words, she elbowed the man at her left in the stomach. Tony didn't waste a second and threw his leg at Gold, while lunging himself in her direction, knocking the armed man down. His gun fell to the floor and she grabbed it, standing up. Gold and Lang made a step forward but froze when they realized she had a weapon aimed at them.

A grunt was heard somewhere on the floor and then Tony was standing up, his left arm kept carefully near his chest, while he caught his breath back.

"Wait, you… You can't go anywhere. The building is full of men with guns. You wouldn't put a foot out there without being killed," Lang reasoned, raising his hands.

"And you can hardly walked. You might want to check your leg, Stark." Pepper frowned and swallowed. She wanted to look but she knew she couldn't glance away from them or they would try something. Those men were intelligent, they were scientists, among the best in their domain. She refused to let herself fall confident and make a stupid mistake.

Tony stepped forward and took the gun out of her hand. He made a gesture to the left and both men moved, not daring try anything. Especially now that Tony had the gun in his hand. He wouldn't hesitate into firing and had a much better chance of aiming right than Pepper did. She knew it, they knew it.

Which also meant she could look and see what was wrong with his leg. She had a feeling she wouldn't like it.

She was right.

He had a knife buried in his thigh handle-deep. Blood had already soaked his pants leg and he was holding himself up on his left leg, while he still held his left arm close to chest, taking slow, steady and shallow breaths.

She didn't know the real extent of his injuries – she wasn't sure she wanted to know yet – but she knew he had a couple of broken ribs, a broken nose, that gash in his arm, his broken finger and now this knife in his thigh. And he'd coughed blood. She just hoped it didn't mean his lungs were pierced because then they didn't have much time and… _Hold it together_, she told herself, _if his lungs had something, he wouldn't be standing and you would have noticed earlier._

She looked back at the men who were now standing in the corner. "Pepper." She turned her head to Tony. "Check the guy here. He may have something on him that we could use."

She nodded and turned around. She kneeled at the man's side and turned him on his back. A bleeding gash marred his face where Tony had probably hit him to knock him out. She made a face and rummaged through his pockets, searching for anything that could be useful.

"There's nowhere you can go, you're doomed. You just condemn her you know that, Stark?" the man taunted. She could hear the smirk he was certainly wearing.

"You think you're smart, Gold, right?" Tony's voice was unwavering, full of his usual confidence. There was no sign he was hurt in the smooth and slightly amused tone. If she couldn't hear the light wheezing of his breathing, she could have fallen for it. Her hand fell on a familiar shape and she frowned. She took the man's jacket off of it and smiled. It was another gun with ammunition. "You didn't notice I wasn't writing the good program in the past hour. I switched at one point and you didn't realize it."

She stood up, having finished searching the man and turned back to the two scientists. Gold was clenching his fists, glowering while Lang was staring at the gun Tony was holding casually aimed at them with big fearful eyes. "You didn't."

"Oh I did." He raised the weapon in the air and added. "Listen."

Silence fell as they waited for whatever was supposed to come. Pepper handed Tony some bullets, which he slipped in his pocket. He threw her a glance, silently asking if she was alright and she nodded. Her lips were still throbbing from where the man had hit her earlier but it truly was nothing.

And then there was some kind of explosion and power seemed to shut down as sparks flew off the neon lightings above them. Only light from the middle afternoon sun filtered through the high windows, leaving the room in semidarkness. Lang shouted as he jumped, which earned him a slap on the back of his head from Gold. Tony chuckled at the scene and Pepper couldn't help but smile – they were ridiculous.

Shouts could be heard in the distance and she glanced at Tony, raising an eyebrow. "What do we do now?" she whispered, not wanting the other two to hear them.

"We get out."

* * *

Steve raised his shield, looking intently at the creatures in front of him. By his side, Clint was ready to grab the glasses he gave to the soldier for the Step One of their plan. The Captain looked over to the colonel who had both arms raised, ready to fire. Natasha was by his side, guns in hand, legs slightly bent, body leaning forward. Bruce was standing behind them, looking calm and not in the slightest bit about to turn – which was good because the Hulk wouldn't come into play until later. Thor was behind Clint, waiting for his turn as well.

They could do it.

The soldier looked back at the monstrosities and took a deep breath. He pulled his arm and threw carefully. The shield span as it flew to the first creature. It hit it in the stomach, making it fall, and bounced back, moving to the next one. It hit it as well and then came back to the Captain. Clint took the glasses and grabbed an arrow. He aimed before letting it loose. The colonel then fired two beams in opposite directions. There were screams as the creatures were touched, the arrow which was buried in the grass exploded and two screams joined the first ones. And suddenly four creatures were visible.

Natasha and Thor didn't wait and launched forward, going after the two visible ones. Steve moved to Bruce, while Clint and Rhodes took care of making the others visible as well.

"Ready?"

"I think."

"Then let's go."

They both started running in the direction of the building, choosing the path clear of creatures in the heart of the battle. Everything was according to plan. Clint and Rhodes were making sure the creatures – those DASC – lost their advantage and Natasha and Thor took care of incapacitating them completely while the both of them headed inside to start clearing the way to Tony and Pepper.

They were half way across and four of the DASC were lying lifelessly on the ground while all of them were now visible, when it happened. An explosion shook the right side of the building and then the lights that were on inside shut down.

But something else shut down too.

The DASC stopped moving suddenly and fell forward, landing head first in the dirt, as if an off button had been switched.

"What…"

Clint grinned while taking off his glasses. "Somehow I think Tony has something to do with that."

Natasha smirked. "I'm not about to complain."

* * *

Tony aimed back at them. "Lang, do me a favor and knock him out."

"Wha… What?" He stuttered, eyes wide as he stepped back.

Gold sneered at Tony. "You think shutting up the power will stop us? You're only one man."

Tony's lips curled up in a predatory smile. "Please." He gestured at Lang. "You mixed the human DNA because you wanted those creatures of yours to have the thinking ability we possess. You wanted them to be able to understand orders and follow them. It didn't work, right? That's why you needed that robot to guide them." Gold frowned and looked at Lang who was biting his lip and clenching his fists in frustration. "I shut the power down so that whatever creature he had made wouldn't stand in the way of my friends." Pepper smiled next to him while Gold started breathing heavily. "See, I know for a fact that by now… They must be here. I'm not one man, I'm a man with a team."

* * *

"Now what? We don't know where we're supposed to go, you know." Clint said, while looking around. He had an arrow notched on his bow – he wasn't about to let anyone have him by surprise.

The room they entered when they got to the building was quite big. There were several tables, on which computers were off because of the power shutdown. There were couches in one corner, with a TV. Whoever those guys were, they had been staying here for quite some time. Clint could see empty boxes of take-away food and drinks everywhere. He made out cameras in the corners as well. The place was dirty and dark – but that may be because of the lack of light.

"We separate. Thor, Bruce, you go this way. Natasha you go with Rhodes over there. Clint – you're with me," Steve answered gesturing at the three doors. They all nodded and moved as told. Bruce was flexing his fingers and cracking his neck behind Thor, looking ridiculously small – they knew better of course because the Hulk was soon going to come out to play and smash.

Steve put his hand over the handle and got ready to open the door. Clint stood, bow raised, arrow at chest height. Behind them, Thor and Bruce had disappeared into their own room or corridor and Natasha was getting ready to open her door, while Rhodes was preparing his repulsors.

And then both doors were opened.

On empty corridors.

Steve nodded and they left the room behind, hoping they would find Tony and Pepper quickly.

* * *

"Now will you knock him out?" Tony asked again, moving the gun from Lang to Gold, raising an eyebrow in expectation.

Lang swallowed and looked at Gold uncertainly. Tony cocked his head to the side, waiting. Really that guy was starting to piss him off. He didn't have all day and his leg was starting to really hurt. He wouldn't be able to stand very long like that, he needed to get a move on _now_.

"What… What am I supposed to do?"

Pepper snorted behind him and Tony smiled. "You're supposed to knock him out, aren't _you_ supposed to be intelligent?" He loved that woman.

"You heard the lady, Lang. Knock him out." Gold rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "I'm sure you're dying to, really. I would have strangled him within two minutes if I were you." He glared at him while Lang wriggled his hands and shifted on his feet. Tony had to bite his lip – and he winced when his teeth touched a sensitive spot – to prevent himself from grinning.

Lang looked around him and found what seemed to be a brick on the ground. He glanced at Gold, then at Tony and Pepper before grabbing it. He stood up again and clenching his fingers around it, slammed it down on the back of Gold's head – harder than was necessary. Tony whistled impressed. "He really pissed me off too."

Pepper choked on her laugh. "Come over here, Lang," Tony said, gesturing forward. Tony shifted on his left leg and made a face when his ribs protested the movement, as well as his right leg. Really, he was tired of all those injuries. He wanted his music, Jarvis, a hot shower, his bed where he would lie down with Pepper by his side and his work on his pads. That felt more like a dream than a possible reality right now, especially since he knew he would more than likely end up in a hospital bed, not in his home, not with his things.

Lang was suddenly in front of him and he had to restrain himself from being startled out of his skin. He had zoned out again. "What do you…"

Tony chose not to wait and hit him on the temple with the butt of his gun. He crumpled to the floor, unconscious. "Let's get a move on, then."

Pepper's hand closed around his left forearm. He looked at her while turning around slowly. Her blue eyes were studying his face carefully, not missing anything, so he tried to hide his pain as much as possible. "Are you okay? I mean, I know you're not, but… Can you even walk Tony?"

He shrugged and offered her a smile. "I can. I think. Probably. Let's give it a try, shall we not?" He flashed her a confident smile and put his right foot forward. His leg screamed abuse immediately when he raised it but he ignored it and pushed forward. This was the easy part. He needed to move to the hardest one.

He raised his left foot off the ground. And bit down hard on his cheek because _god dammit that hurts like hell and why did that Gold bastard bury a fucking knife in his bloody thigh!_ He closed his eyes tightly and knew in that moment that unless adrenaline started kicking in and Pepper helped him walking, he wasn't going anywhere while he was standing.

"Okay, maybe not," he gritted out between his clenched teeth. Immediately there was a careful arm put around him and she raised his left arm to put it around her shoulders. _Smart_, he thought distantly. His only functioning arm was free of use and even if technically it wasn't good for his right leg that she was on his left side; right now, getting out meant making sure he could use the gun and so his right hand.

"We're gonna move to the wall and then to the door, Tony. That way you can lean on it."

He smiled a bit at that, ignoring the pain it sent to his brain. There was overflowing pain coming from everywhere with more distinctive spikes from his chest and leg so really his face was secondary. But Pepper's voice was business-like and firm and strong and so _her_, that for a moment it was like they were back home and he had forgotten to sign some paper.

"Tony? You're still with me?"

"Back with you, yeah," he breathed out.

Slowly they moved to the wall, with Tony wincing every few steps, making sure to keep his breathing as steady as possible. There was no way he was going to start panting now because then he wasn't sure he could catch his breath quickly enough. They needed to get out of this room before someone had the marvelous idea of checking on them. Or before someone figured out he was responsible for the shutdown and not the Avengers that were probably there.

Cause he knew they were. They had to realize by now that they were gone and it meant they asked Jarvis. He knew his idea of a GPS inside him was good. He couldn't risk another Afghanistan or something else. Just _no_.

They were at the door. "You ready?" Pepper asked him, closing her left hand on the handle. He nodded, raising the gun. She opened the door and then they were looking at the corridor they had been in several hours ago. Distant shouts reached them from the darkness ahead.

"I guess it's time to throw ourselves out there," he said cheekily.

Pepper looked at him with a disapproving gaze and it was as if they weren't in a life or death situation. "You know the way out?"

"Nope. But right now I think it doesn't matter. The only thing we need to do is avoid those guys." She took a deep breath and let the door go. She was about to step forward when he suddenly grabbed her face and pulled her to him, crashing their lips together. His body protested immediately to that too passionate embrace but he didn't care. Last time he'd kissed her, he'd been only half-conscious and she was crying. And there was this stupid nagging thought on the back of his mind that kept telling him it might be the last time he could kiss her.

He ignored it.

Because he was afraid it could turn out to be true.

* * *

Natasha swiped her leg out and the man fell. She grabbed the front of his shirt and knocked him out with the back of her gun, finally letting him lie on the ground. She stood back up and turned to the colonel who was finishing his own man. She glanced around, noticing they had taken care of the six men in that room. Four of them were dead, the other two unconscious. They weren't trying to go easy on them, not after what they did to Pepper and Tony.

"You good?"

"I am, you?" He nodded and moved to the next door. Natasha followed him, hoping they'll finally find something or well in the best case Tony and Pepper. If they were still together. She hoped they were.

He opened the door and stepped inside the new room. "Clear." She entered then and looked around. It was empty except for a few boxes, covered in dust. "Where are they all?"

"You know where." She sighed and lowered her weapons, relaxing the slightest bit. "Got anything from your sensors?"

"Sounds of a struggle. This way." He gestured to the door on her right. She walked to it, frowning. "This may be Steve or Thor's team."

"Or Tony and Pepper fighting their way out," she pointed out. He tilted his head to the side and shrugged, before walking to her. "It is a possibility, you know."

"Tony would want to avoid it as much as possible. Pepper's with him. They might be weaponless, do you really think Tony would risk her life?" He insisted, closing his fingers around the handle.

She made a face and blew her hair out of her face. He did have a point. Tony would never risk Pepper's life unless he didn't have a choice. But right now they were walking around without any clues of what they were dealing with and which way they had to head to. Especially since it was pretty dark because of the shutdown and it didn't seem like it would power back up anytime soon. Tony had a plan. This was clearly his mark. She trusted him to know what he was doing but… They had no idea of what it was.

Did he include their part in the plan? Did he know how many people were in there? What weapons did they have?

They were going in completely blind. And she just hoped that Tony wasn't too even though it wouldn't surprise her all that much coming from him. He was unpredictable that way, annoying as it was.

"He wouldn't. But we don't know what's in his head." She raised an eyebrow. "Do _you_ want to give it a try and get into his head?" She raised her guns.

She imagined him grimacing, knowing that was exactly what trying to get into Tony's mind felt like. "Point made. Let's go, shall we then?"

He opened the door.

* * *

Thor slammed his hammer into his opponent and the man flew into the wall. He wouldn't stand up ever again. The demigod turned around and saw the Hulk smashed two men with each other and they crumpled to the ground, the sound of bones cracking feeling the room. Thor winced a bit at that, especially when he turned to him, an angry scowl on his face.

"Tiny metal man not here!" he roared. Thor nodded, smiling at the nickname the other guy had for Tony. The genius hadn't been pleased by it because of the tiny part. He had whined about it for days and refused to say anything to Bruce – who didn't understand why because he wasn't the Hulk – and would ignore the other guy when in battle until he called him something else.

He never did, obviously.

"Then we shall keep going."

Thor watched him as he walked to the next door and punched it. The wood flew into the next room, knocking someone out. There were screams and suddenly shots could be heard. The Hulk roared, spreading his arms around him, destroying parts of the walls at the same time. Then he moved forward and started knocking the men out of the way, effectively killing them.

Thor followed, knowing he would hardly have anything to do when he'd reach the room because his friend would have been done by then.

The Hulk had been wanting to get out, according to Bruce, ever since the incident happened. He was angry at everyone for hurting his tiny friend and Bruce had explained to them that his other guy absolutely _loved_ Tony. Unfortunately there had been nothing he could do until now and he was way too happy to smash the ones that hurt his friend and took him and Pepper. He wouldn't hold back.

Thor found his loyalty admirable. They didn't know whether or not Tony was angry with the Hulk as well – they doubted it since he wasn't there exactly when they turned against him.

Thor was deeply ashamed of his behavior, he had let his anger get the better of him and acted unworthy of his friendship with the Man Of Iron, but of the trust the Lady Pepper had put in him as well. Both had trusted all of them not to hurt them, Pepper had trusted them with Tony too, and they betrayed all of it. They acted rashly, without thinking, they had been idiots letting their anger control them instead of their brains.

But he refused to make the same mistake.

They all refused to.

They would find them, get them back and form a team again.

The Hulk turned to him and gestured at the door in front of him. Thor smirked and walked forward, nodding at his teammate for letting him go first this time.

* * *

Tony looked at the other side of the room, groaning when he realized they would have to go out into the open to reach it.

They were currently both kneeling down behind boxes, hiding from the dozens of men in the room. The door they wanted to reach was across from them, in a small recess. But they needed for that to move from their hiding spot which meant getting seen by the heavy armed men.

Tony turned his head towards Pepper. "Do you have a plan?" she asked, looking at him with worried eyes. He tilted his head from side to side, making a face, which made him wince when it pulled at his broken nose and cut cheek.

"One that I don't like." Unfortunately they were stuck. They had followed the corridor which had lead them to this room. There had been no other doors, no other ways out. They had no choice but to go through here and it seemed the Avengers hadn't reached them yet. It made him wonder just how big that place was.

"Do we have a choice?" she whispered, putting a hand on his forearm, avoiding all injuries. He sighed and shook his head slowly.

The pain was reduced to a dull ache right now. Adrenaline had kicked in somewhere along the way and he could finally hear himself think clearly. He knew it was a temporary win and was using it to its fullest. "Okay," he breathed out. "You're going to go to the door and I'll cover you. You have to be fast, Pep."

"What about you?" She was frowning and her lips were turning down into a disapproving pout.

"I'll cross once you'll be on the other side. You'll have to shoot." He didn't say it but they were both thinking it. He will take a longer time for him to cross because of his injuries. Adrenaline or not, he was still limping and stumbling more than walking. "You'll be okay?"

She pursed her lips, looked at the door and then back at him. "I think." Her fingers clenched around his arm. "We'll be fine, Tony. We're getting out of here."

He smiled weakly. It was so much like her to try and reassure him every time they were in a tight spot or she was worrying. "Of course we are." He raised to his feet, crouching low – as much as he possibly could, which wasn't much actually. Pepper followed and took a deep breath in anticipation. "Go."

He raised to his full height and started shooting, satisfied when two men fell before they realized what was happening. Pepper ran for the other side and reached it when they started shooting back.

He dropped behind the boxes, Pepper was clenching her hands around her own gun. She looked back at him and widened her eyes.

He did as well because the door opened then.

"Behind you!" They both shouted.

They both turned, gun raised.

Four shots rang out.

* * *

***Hides somewhere* So? What do you think? ... Don't hate me?**

_**Please review!**_

**AngelShep**


	13. And Breaking

**Hello! Thank you for all your reviews, everyone wass very happy with the cliffhanger last chapter ^^ Anyway, here's the next one. Hope you'll like it as well. **

**You might not like the title of the chapter (I'm aware it might give something away), but hey, I think it's time I say something about me. I'm a very realistic girl, borderline pessimist. To me you cannot possibly have a good story without people dying on both sides (whether it is a main character, a secondary or one you might see once or twice). So that's it, you're warned. **

**But that doesn't mean I'll necessary kill someone of course. ^^**

**Good reading!**

* * *

_**…And Breaking**_

Fury inhaled deeply as he watched the agents moving around, getting ready to enter the building. The moment the Avengers had informed him they'd found them, they had moved to them, with twenty or so agents and two medical teams. He knew they would be needed.

Two teams had already gone inside and the other two were getting ready to go as well. Material was lying around – bandages, oxygen, masks, defibrillators and other things they might need.

He couldn't believe he had missed everything that had been going on with the Avengers. Everything would have gone so much better if he'd known they had messed up and Stark was withdrawing from them. He should have seen it and none of this would have happened. He should have known better from the moment he realized Stark wasn't acting like himself. He thought it would pass, some bad day for SI or something else, he really should have dug into it deeper.

His whole plan failed the moment he'd let that information slip from his fingers.

Trust.

That was one of Stark's biggest issues. If there was something he should have watched out for, paid any attention to, it was this; to make sure it didn't waver once.

And Stark had hidden the threat on him. That was something else that he had missed. Well they had all missed it really. Stark might say whatever he wanted about how he had many secrets, the genius was damn good about hiding things too. Especially since he could hack into SHIELD whenever he wanted, but they couldn't hack into his system back.

"Sir?"

Fury turned to look at Hill who was standing behind him, back stiff and hands clasped behind her. "Agent Hill, what is it?"

"The two teams are ready to go in. From what the other two gathered, the Avengers have done a good job of cleaning up the way. They haven't reach them yet and didn't find Stark neither."

He nodded and looked back at the medical teams. "Are they ready to intervene, shall they be needed?"

Hill stepped forward to stand by his side. "Yes." She bit her lip, hesitating. "Do you think Stark will be okay?"

Fury smiled the tiniest bit. It wasn't usual for Hill to show emotions, especially to Stark who often enough infuriated her. "He will as long as Potts is."

She looked at him. "I didn't know he cared so much about her."

"There is more to Stark than what he lets on." Fury clasped his hands behind his back, turning to her. She was frowning, trying to understand his words, the meaning behind it and adding it to what she knew of Stark. He knew it was something hard because Stark didn't let people look too close thanks to his ability to exasperate people more than anyone else. No one wanted to spend more time than strictly necessary with Stark because of that and Fury knew it was exactly what the man wanted.

"I'll try then. If he starts to be too annoying, I can't promise anything. I'll try not to shoot him though."

Fury smiled. "If you can overcome that urge then you can overcome anything." He sighed and looked back at the medical equipment. "For everyone's sake, I hope Potts is alright. He may be annoying as hell and he will probably be even worse if he's hurt, but I'd rather have him this way than broken because he lost the one thing he cares the most about."

Hill opened her mouth to say something but he didn't wait around. He turned and headed towards the teams that were ready to go.

They had to find them both and get them back.

Fury sighed. As annoying and infuriating as the man was, he was an asset no one could afford to lose. He had the means, the brains, the money. He had a way to charm people into doing anything he wanted with his charisma, his personality, his words, the confidence he oozed. Not only that but Stark had his heart in the right place: he would never back down from what he believed in and would always do everything in his power to help people. Iron Man didn't bring this forward, it just gave him a new opportunity to do more, but he already gave more than most people to as many charities as possible. His work was partly to help people (in the medical field, or with his intelly-crops).

No, they couldn't lose the man for more reasons than he cared to admit.

And he had an apology to make to the man for the way he treated him (something he hated having to do).

* * *

"Does this thing was really that big?" Clint asked as they entered yet another room. It was empty as well, just like the last five ones.

They had been following that corridor for ten minutes at least and it seemed endless. There were empty rooms lining it from both sides and they steadily grew more and more annoyed with this whole thing. It was grating on their nerves. They had encountered only two men whom they had taken care of in seconds. It left them with the thought that Tony and Pepper might be in a bad spot. What if all the men had concentrated on them? What if they had killed them so they would have done a rescue mission for nothing? Or they could very well be facing worse than them in the form of Thor and the Hulk.

"Let's just keep on going on, Clint," Steve sighed.

He walked to the next door and opened it. Just another empty room.

He was about to close the door when Clint stopped him. "Wait." He walked in, frowning. "This one's different."

"How so? It's just more moldy." It was true. The room had water running down the walls and in small puddles on the ground. The walls themselves were a bit greenish and it was cold in there. There were no windows and they could only see a naked light bulb in the ceiling.

Clint shook his head and moved his flashlight to one corner. There was a chain with a rusty hook at the end of it and what looked like to be rope. Steve frowned too then.

"Look in the middle of the room Clint."

The archer complied and moved the flashlight to the middle of the room.

Blood.

Steve inhaled sharply while Clint's hand tightened around his bow. "Do you think…"

"Probably. They were here. Look." He pointed to dirty towels and rags that were red from blood on the ground a few feet away near the wall. "They must have been together."

Steve nodded. "Whose blood do you think it is?"

Clint glanced back at him. "As horrible as you might think it is of me to say so, I hope it's Tony's." Steve set his lips in a thin line.

He hoped the same thing.

Because Clint was right, as horrible as it was, Tony could probably handle the pain more than Pepper, not only that, but he would probably last longer as well. They may be both civilians, but Tony was Iron Man. They may not know all that much about Afghanistan thanks to the folder being very small and almost clean because of Tony hacking into SHIELD and wiping pretty much everything, they still knew the man had experience with torture. Pepper wasn't.

Pepper should never be in such a situation.

"I hope too."

Clint shot him a sympathetic look before leaving the room, letting the darkness swallow it. Steve closed his eyes and breathed deeply, fingers squeezing the strap of his shield.

This was motivation. This was something he could add to everything else to fuel his anger and determination. The blatant proof of what they'd done to Tony and Pepper.

He opened his eyes, a burning fire in them, and walked out, taking the lead down the corridor.

"Wait, there's a door there! Steve you just…"

But he kept on going because he knew. Call it instinct, gut feeling or something else entirely, but he _knew_ they couldn't waste anymore time. He _knew_ those rooms were empty and they had to go to the door at the end of the corridor.

He _knew_ that was where they would find them.

_Hold on a bit longer, we're coming_.

"Hey oh! Steve, come on, answer me!" Clint said, catching up on him, flashlight illuminating the way ahead of them.

"We're wasting time. I… They're up there, I know it. Don't ask me how."

Clint nodded. "I trust you."

They reached the door and Clint raised his bow, notching an arrow. Steve nodded at him before pushing the door open. Immediately, heads snapped towards them and Clint let the arrow loose, killing someone. The captain held up his shield and threw it, knocking three men backwards. There were a lot of men, all carrying guns. They definitively found the right place.

Steve grabbed back his shield and raised it to stop a bullet. Clint jumped behind a table that was there, letting go of another arrow. There were outnumbered four to one at least and they weren't bulletproof. But they weren't all that worried though. They could deal with it easily.

Steve threw his shield, knocking the two men in front of him out. He glanced at Clint and saw him grabbing his arrow back from someone's neck. He didn't seem hurt. The soldier turned back to the men in front of him when he heard shots. He frowned, as did the men. They looked over their shoulders and saw two of their companions down while the others started firing away at something behind the group.

Steve looked over there and his eyes widened when he saw Pepper run from behind the box towards the wall on the other side. Then he saw Tony who was shooting at the group. He barely had time to look at him before he crouched down behind the boxes again. But he saw blood on his face that was for sure.

The door on one side opened and Natasha and the colonel came in, immediately firing. Help was there. If the Hulk and Thor arrived, then they wouldn't stand a chance anymore. Not that they had much of one in the first place.

Then four shots rang out more clearly than any others.

And a shattering scream. "Pepper!"

Steve jumped into action then and threw his shield into the remaining men, who weren't all that numerous anymore. He saw Tony run – well more like stumble – in the direction he'd seen Pepper disappear.

What had happened? How could something happen? They were all there, fighting and pulling the attention of the men to them, not to Tony and Pepper. How… Nothing could possibly had happened. It just… couldn't.

He didn't want to think about it.

He heard two other shots from Tony's direction.

Steve grabbed his shield and ran forward, in their direction, knowing that whatever was going on wasn't good and they might need someone else with them. "Rogers, where you're going?" Clint asked him, screaming over the noise of the fights.

"To Tony and Pepper."

He didn't wait for an answer and left, pushing away a man that was about to run into him.

And then he was next to them.

He caught his breath immediately.

Tony was kneeling on the ground, holding Pepper's body close to him. There was blood on him and her and on the ground – too much blood. And Tony's arm was – _God, what happened?_ Steve wondered. There was a man a few feet away, he was dead obviously.

"Stay with me, Pep, you hear me? _You. Stay. With. Me._" There was a slight edge of hysteria and desperation in Tony's voice as he whispered the same words again and again. This only served to worry Steve more because it was so _unlike_ him.

"Tony?" He called softly. He didn't seem to hear him as he started rocking back and forth. There were two guns on the ground next to them. He tightened his grip on Pepper as his whispered words became more erratic.

Steve looked around, noticing that all the men were dead or unconscious. Rhodes, Natasha and Clint ran towards them, the colonel taking off the suit's head. He ran to his friends' side and dropped next to them. Natasha and Clint raised an eyebrow at him and he just shrugged. He didn't know what happened. He couldn't see anything.

He took a breath and moved, stepping around them to face Tony and actually see something.

Rhodes put carefully a hand on Tony's right shoulder. "Tony? I need you to look at me, to tell me something, anything," he urged, his voice soft and his words slow but firm.

Steve swallowed when he finally took a good look at the situation. Pepper's chest was covered in blood and she didn't seem to be moving, just lying lifelessly in Tony's arms. He wasn't faring better. His face was covered in blood on its right side and his left arm was a bloody mess. His shoulder was bleeding heavily, and his breath was short and ragged. But his eyes were focused on Pepper's face. His right arm was cradling her to him, putting her head on his shoulder as his left hand was pushing on the wound that was just above her right breast.

A bullet wound.

"Tony?" Rhodes called again, squeezing his shoulder.

"You need to take her, Rhodey. Take her to the hospital, she needs –" His voice broke and he took a deep breath that made him cough. Cough blood. "I can't – I…" He seemed not to talk to him anymore suddenly. "Pepper, please, open your eyes, stay with me."

"Tony," Rhodes insisted glancing down at the still form of the woman. Steve took a shaky breath and looked at Natasha and Clint who were wearing shocked and sad expressions. He was almost surprised to see emotion on their faces but then he realized that it didn't matter.

"Pepper, come on, open your eyes." Tony's eyes filled with tears. And suddenly he snapped his head to Rhodes'. "Take her _now_. You can… Fly to the hospital. She needs care and…"

Rhodes took on a determined expression as he squeezed Tony's shoulder again. He raised his other one to put it on Tony's left forearm, avoiding any injury. "Tony. She's… She's not breathing. There's nothing… it's too late. I'm…"

"No!" Tony's yell cut through the air. Pained and desperate and filled with heartbreak. Steve realized then that no matter what they said, they wouldn't reach him. He won't believe she was… "She is. I can… Her heart's beating, platypus. _It is_," he insisted, voice pleading, urging, the tears started to fall from his eyes as he looked into the colonel's ones. Steve barely registered the nickname that slipped off his tongue.

"Okay, Tony. I believe you. I'll take her. There's a SHIELD team just outside with medics. I'll take her to them, okay." He raised his eyebrows in expectation.

Tony nodded and glanced back down at Pepper. Steve frowned. The genius looked so lost and broken. He looked like a child who just lost the most important thing in his life. He was probably realizing on some level that she was gone, even if he couldn't admit it just yet. "I can't lose her, Rhodey," he whispered, so low Steve barely heard it even with his super hearing. "I can't."

Rhodes licked his lips, probably wondering what he could say. He couldn't tell him he wouldn't because that promise would be empty. But seeing Tony like that… it was too much. It was like they had broken his trust all over again, except it was worse this time, because it was _Pepper_. She was the woman he loved and there was no fixing this. She was… gone.

Steve closed his eyes to stop tears from leaving them. He had to stay strong. They all had. Tony needed them.

* * *

**:D**

**No? Well... You have permission to send threats, and yell at me if you want to. But please tell me what you think as well! **

**See you!**

**AngelShep**


	14. Long Is The Waiting

**Salut! Okay, first of all, whoah! Thank you for all the reviews, I've never received so much before. Second, I'm glad to see none of you wants Pepper dead ^^ So anyway, here's the new chapter and I hope you'll like it !**

**Sorry for updating later than usual but I went to see Iron Man 3 today so yeah. By the way, it's awesome, like really great, I loved it!**

* * *

_**Long Is The Wait**_

Why didn't they believe him? He could see it, hear it, feel it. They didn't believe him when he said she was alive. But _he_ was the one with a hand on her chest, trying to stop the bleeding, _he_ was the one above her, feeling the rise and fall of her chest, albeit small ones but still _there_. She was alive. He knew it. He hadn't lost it yet.

Suddenly a gasp filled the room and Pepper's eyes flew open. She tried to breathe but a pained expression appeared on her face as she let out a moan. She closed her eyes again and her hands moved up to try and reach her wound, only to stop on Tony's arm. Her fingers grasped it, squeezing. Tony winced as her hand touched his cut arm but the look of pure joy on his face didn't disappear.

"Pep, I need you to stay with me. You hear me?"

"To… Tony? Wha…"

"No, no, don't talk , don't, okay." He took a sharp breath that made him cough again but he didn't seem to notice. Rhodes moved to be ready to take her and get her out. She was alive. Tony… Tony had been right, she was.

Her eyes opened again and focused on Tony's filled with tears ones. Her breathing was frantic and pained but she kept on looking at him with so much love and concern that Natasha gasped then. Because Tony was staring right back with the same emotions shining in his eyes. "You'll be okay Pepper. Rhodey's gonna take you out to doctors. You'll be fine." He leaned forward, face almost against Pepper's. "Don't leave me, Pep," he whispered, "don't."

"Tony, I can't waste more time."

He nodded and moved back, carefully handing her to Rhodes who was reaching out for her. He cradled her to his chest and stood up. He looked up at the ceiling, knowing this was the best way out. Clint seemed to notice it as well and took out an arrow from his quiver. He aimed at a spot away enough from them that they wouldn't be caught by one of the debris. He let it fly and the arrow hit the ceiling. Seconds later it was exploding, leaving a hole there.

Rhodes kicked his thrusters on and flew through the opening, his precious load in his careful arms. Tony watched him disappear, unmoving from his position on the ground. He didn't seem to notice much of anything that was around him, almost as if he was detached from it.

The door near them suddenly blasted open and the Hulk stepped in, anger oozing from him, fists raised, snarl in place, only to freeze when he saw them. His eyes then fell on Tony who hadn't even reacted to his entrance. His expression shifted as he took in the appearance – quite bloody and bad – of his friend. He let out a roar and stomped forward, eyes sweeping around to search for someone he could smash and crush to avenge the genius. But there was no one.

Thor entered too and his expression lighted up when he saw Tony, only for it to fall again when he saw the state he was in.

Natasha had to admit, he didn't look too good, but she was impressed he could still stay conscious. Steve moved and kneeled in front of him, pushing himself directly into his line of vision. "Tony?" he called softly.

The inventor blinked and turned his head to look at him. "Rogers? What…" It was as if he hadn't known they were there. He had been so focused on Pepper, he had probably noticed the colonel simply because he had touched him.

"Can you stand and walk? We're taking you out of here. We're taking you home, Tony. You're safe."

He frowned and put his right hand on the ground to help him get to his feet. But the instant he moved his right leg, the wince he didn't manage to hide, as well as the gasp and groan he let out, made them all move forward in concern. "I'm fine," he gritted out, breath coming in short and eyes closed tightly. He knew them well. Natasha almost smiled at the thought.

"Tony, what… If you can't stand, I can help you." This wasn't helping. It would only push Tony into doing this alone, Natasha knew. The man didn't like showing weakness so accepting Steve's help was out of the question.

There was a movement at the corner of her eye and she turned her head to see Thor catch Bruce as the Hulk left. "I don't need your help," Tony growled. She reported her attention on the two men. It was almost déjà vu. They were clashing and fighting again because they couldn't agree on that. For Steve, it wasn't weakness that you needed to lean on a teammate, he couldn't understand Tony if he didn't try to see it from his point of view.

The genius pushed Steve – admittedly weakly – away and pushed himself onto his feet, wobbling a little as he stood on shaky legs. He wrapped his left arm around his torso – which meant he had broken ribs. He straightened a bit, trying not to appear as weak as he may be because of the numerous injuries he was showing.

"You have a bullet wound in your shoulder." Clint crossed his arms.

Tony threw him a dirty look, that was somehow made worse by the state of his face. "It's a through and through. Looks worse than it is."

"What about the knife in your thigh?" He kept on going, raising an eyebrow.

Bruce was regaining consciousness. "I was able to walk here, so it doesn't bother me." Now that was a lie if she knew one. But she still didn't say anything. Clint was on a roll after all.

"And your broken ribs?"

Tony's glare intensified. "I don't _need_ help," he growled.

Bruce smiled at Thor while putting the pants the man had kept for him on. He then glanced at Tony and paled a little when he saw all the blood on him. "Tony?"

The genius turned to him and visibly deflated a little. It wasn't much but it was something. She didn't know what it showed, what they must understand by this. She knew Tony trusted Rhodes – he gave him Pepper, without over thinking it. He gave him Pepper, trusted him with her safety where he didn't trust them. But maybe it was because he was injured, maybe it was because his body was betraying him and it was some leftover of their friendship coming through, she didn't know but he seemed to relax a bit around Bruce.

"What… You should sit," Bruce stated carefully, stepping toward him.

Tony rolled his eyes. "I'm fine. Can we go now or do you want me to do the extended list of my injuries?"

Natasha smiled. "The list would be great, yes." Tony glared at her too.

Steve put a hand on his good shoulder, which made Tony jerk away. Unfortunately, the movement was enough to unsettle him and he tripped, falling backwards. He hit the ground on his left arm, before anyone could catch him, and let out a pained scream. His breath got caught in his throat and he winced as he moved on his back. Bruce rushed forward and helped him sit up.

Clint and Steve kneeled down around him while Thor hovered behind Bruce, not knowing what he could do. Natasha sat next to Bruce, wincing at the harsh coughs Tony was making, blood splashing on his hand, as he struggled to breathe again. "We need to get him out. I don't like that blood he's coughing," Bruce stated.

"I'm…" Another cough cut him off. "Fine."

"Tony, you're coughing blood. Your lungs might be pierced. If there is blood in them…"

"There's… not." His breathing was slowly getting back under control. "Cheek cut, that's all."

Bruce wasn't buying it but he didn't insist. He reached for the genius, but Tony pushed him back. "Tony, I'm not asking you. I'm dragging your ass out of here and I'm _helping_ whether you want it or not." His voice was firm and didn't let any room to protests.

But Tony wouldn't be Tony if he chose to let that stop him. "I don't give a damn about that. I can walk, I'm getting out without your help." He struggled to his feet again, wincing all the way up, making Bruce roll his eyes skywards as he stood up as well.

"Then let's go, shall we, Tony?" Natasha smirked as she saw the look on Bruce's face. He was playing it well. They all knew Tony wouldn't be able to walk. He barely look able to stand on his feet very long, there was no way he could walk back all the way out of the warehouse. The adrenaline that must have pumped into him during the battle and the situation with Pepper must have started wearing out. It was only a matter of time before he crashed as the pain flooded back completely.

The genius pushed his right leg forward without so much as a slip of the mask he had put on his face – for that, Natasha admired him. And then he tried to move his left one. And that's when it went from bad to worse. He cried out as his right leg buckled under his weight. Bruce caught him before he could hit the ground face first. He lowered him to the ground and turned him around carefully, taking into account all his injuries. "Okay Tony, no more…" he trailed off when he realized the engineer was unconscious. "Well that's one way to resolve the problem. Steve?"

The soldier moved forward and took Tony's body carefully in his arms, his shield now slung over his shoulder. He stood up slowly and nodded at the others. "Let's get out of here."

Thor opened the way and Steve followed, carrying the battered body of Tony in his arms. Clint, Bruce and Natasha exchanged a glance before following, Bruce taking the Iron Patriot's helmet before leaving.

* * *

When Fury saw the form of Iron Patriot flying to them, he knew something must have gone wrong. And when he saw he was carrying someone, this feeling grew stronger.

Until he realized it was Pepper Potts and then he screamed at the medics to get a move on because someone injured was coming their way. If he flew her there ahead of everyone else that meant she must be really bad. Or Stark had pushed everyone into taking her out before they took him out – which was a very likely possibility.

The colonel stopped next to a gurney and put Potts on it. Two doctors immediately set to work while Fury approached to hear what Rhodes was saying. "A bullet wound. We thought she was dead. She fell unconscious on the way here. No other injury." He grabbed the arm of the nearest doctor. "You'd better save her or you'll have someone to answer to."

"Let them do their job. They are going to make sure she stays alive, colonel." The doctor stepped away and they took Pepper to the quinjet that would take them to the medical area of the Helicarrier.

"The others are coming with Tony. He's badly injured as well. I didn't get to see all of it but he had a broken finger, a nasty gash on his left arm and cheek, a bullet wound in his shoulder. From his breathing, I gathered he had a couple of broken ribs coupled to a broken nose."

Fury made a face. He could sympathize with that. It could have been worse, far worse, but he guessed they needed him in a proper shape if they didn't do more. And they only had Tony for about two days. It wasn't long enough for them to throw their worse – he knew how those people usually worked, going gradually up the ladder. "She'll be fine."

"I hope so. You didn't see him Fury. He was… I've never seen him like that. If she doesn't live…" He sighed and licked his lips. "He's gonna be hell to be with while in the medical area."

"I can guess. But I'd rather have him there than somewhere I don't know of. Even if he complains all the time."

Hill arrived then and cleared her throat to get their attention. "The teams inside said the warehouse is under control. There are fifteen people alive out of the eighty people they counted."

"We didn't try to keep them alive," Rhodes said, making a face. "I guess it's a good thing they're still some of them not dead."

Fury nodded. "Agent Hill, prepare a medical team and a quinjet, Stark's gonna need care too." She acquiesced and left them, heading towards the agents and other members of SHIELD standing not far. "We will get what we need to out of those few, colonel. Don't worry about it."

The colonel looked back at the warehouse. "The whole trust thing…" Fury raised an eyebrow at that, he didn't know Rhodes knew about it. And he didn't expect him to talk to him neither. "Do they know Tony might never trust them again fully?"

"I told them." He looked surprised at that. "I know Stark doesn't trust me, but I also know why he has trust issues. I may not know all of the problems he ever had but I can understand how he will forever be wary of the people who proved him they could betray his trust once. I told them and they didn't take it very well."

Rhodes smiled sadly. "They thought they would get it all back. They thought things will be the same once they had it back." His eyes moved back to the warehouse where they could see the door open. Thor was walking out, followed by everyone else. "You won't mind if I stick around for a bit?"

"Do you really have Tony's full trust?" Fury asked him. It was something he always wondered. It seemed strange to him because their relationship was rocky at its best. There were moments where it was so far stretched, one has to wonder. He was aware the colonel had wanted Tony to stick with the weapon industry and that he stole Tony's suit. He didn't know the extent of their relationship, after all they'd known each other a long time so maybe Tony could get over it but… it seemed strange to him.

Rhodes smiled softly. "I hope. I think so. Even if I don't have his full trust, it doesn't mean we're any less friends."

The form of Stark lying in Rogers' arm came into view as a medical team hurried to meet them. "I guess you can stay at the base for as long as they're both there."

On those words he strode forward, hearing the other man follow.

* * *

Clint rubbed his hand on his face as they all waited in the debriefing room. Bruce was nervously tapping his fingers on the table. Steve was moving his leg up and down in anxiety. Thor was frowning at the table. Natasha was wearing an impassible look but she was rubbing a finger up and down the fabric of her pants, proving she was as concerned as the others to the experimented eye. Rhodes was chewing on his lip as he sat in Tony's chair.

They've been back on the Helicarrier for three hours now. They had all changed, got into comfortable clothes, ate something even though their stomach was too twisted with worry to take much. Then they had all headed to the debriefing room, knowing Fury would want to talk to them and knowing it was unlikely Tony and Pepper would be out of surgery yet. But they all knew they would head to the medical wing as soon as it was done.

Clint couldn't erase Tony's expression from his mind. The utter loss and desperation as he held Pepper, the tears, unbidden, so real and true, rolling down his face as he clang to his last shred of hope that the woman he loved would live… _God, let Pepper live, please,_ he thought pleadingly. Tony would completely close off from them if she didn't. He doubted even the colonel could reach him then, especially when he already had trouble reaching him in the warehouse.

Tony was never meant to look like that. The man they knew was strong, loud, confident, he was cheerful, always had a word to relax the atmosphere, he cared too much, he could threaten you without so much as blink and with a smile on his face, he could terrify you with a few words because of how deep they could cut. Tony Stark was someone you never messed with, one of the bravest and strongest persons Clint knew, not because he could beat you up in seconds (because that wasn't him) but because he wasn't someone you could break easily. Most people would have broken down after what he went through (and Clint didn't even know the specifics of Afghanistan, just the overall) but he didn't.

But he looked so broken in that warehouse…

Sure after Rhodes had taken Pepper to the medics, the Stark they knew had come back full force. Clint had been impressed he could stand up once, let alone twice, on his own. But that didn't put the image of Tony clinging to Pepper like a life line away.

The arrival of Fury and Hill in the room jolted him out of his thoughts and he turned to face them. Steve straightened immediately and clasped his hands on the table in front of him. "Do you have news?"

"Not yet. They're still in surgery," Fury said moving to his seat at the head of the table. Hill stopped behind the chair and stood up straight, face an emotionless mask.

"This waiting is killing me," Rhodes let out, sighing.

"And us as well, colonel." Fury leaned forward on the table. "We already started questioning those captured. None of them were badly injured thankfully."

"What did they say?"

The corner of Fury's lips rose in a half smirk. "Well… Thomas Lang was rather talkative. He was in the same room as Tony and Pepper when they escaped and made those hideous creatures."

"DASC," Bruce cut him. He got raised eyebrows as that. "Tony calls them DASC. Decaying Acid Spitting Chameleons."

Rhodes chuckled, shaking his head, not surprised. Fury swept a hand around, conceding the point. "Stark did a number on him. The guy's scared shitless. They wanted him to do a program that would allow them to control every computer and electronic system in the world."

"I wasn't aware it was possible," Steve said, frowning.

Fury raised an unimpressed eyebrow at him. "Stark has Jarvis connected permanently to multiple servers all around the world. If there is someone who can do it, I don't doubt it's Stark. Fortunately for everyone, he's on the good side, or we might have a real situation to face." Clint bit his lip to keep from smiling. A situation is what you could call it, indeed. "Anyway, the man behind this whole thing has escaped us."

"What?" Bruce exclaimed, body jerking forward as his hands clenched around the armrests.

"According to Lang, he left not long after they put Stark to work in the morning. He wasn't there when we arrived."

"Do we have a name?"

Fury chucked his tongue. They all groaned. "The guy wasn't scared enough of Stark to tell us what he looked like. He was scared of that guy more apparently."

Clint rolled his eyes. They're always scared of the bad guys more because they think the good ones won't have the guts to do anything. Yeah, well the good ones aren't SHIELD usually. "So now what?"

"Now we wait for them both to get out of surgery and to recover."

* * *

The only sound in the room was the regular beep coming from the cardiac monitor to which Pepper was connected. She was still sound asleep, having gone out of surgery a little over an hour ago. The doctor was optimistic, saying nothing major had been touched, she had lost a lot of blood, but nothing that couldn't be fixed. It had been a huge relief to everyone. They had all gathered in her room, waiting for news about Tony, knowing the doctor knew they were here and would take Tony here as soon as he was out of surgery.

When they asked though, he hadn't said anything and so they still had no news on Tony. They hoped he was alright and everything was going on well.

They had taken two couches to the room, on which Thor, Steve, Clint and Natasha had taken a sit. Rhodes sat on a chair next to Pepper's bed, eyes on her face as she slept peacefully. Her lower lip was split and there was a bruise on her cheek. It was the only sign that anything had happened to her. They were glad for that, even though they knew it was probably because Tony had made sure of that.

Bruce was standing behind him, tapping his fingers on the back of Rhodes' chair. He was deep in thought.

His mind kept going back to Tony's reaction in that warehouse. He hadn't seen him when Pepper was shot, but from what he gathered he had been pretty bad. He understood why, but it was hard to associate Tony to that image. But when he had been back to himself, the man he'd seen was the one he knew well. The one that didn't take any shit from anyone, the one that didn't accept contact from people if he hadn't started it or gave any sign they could touch him.

It was hard to imagine that man as someone that was desperately clinging to Pepper. He knew it could be true though, because Tony loved her and that meant more than they realized. She was his constant. When everything came crashing down, she was there. Afghanistan, Manhattan, what they did. She was there – always. Of course Tony would break if she were to disappear, to go, to _die_. The way back would be a long and hard one.

Thankfully she was alive, the proof of that just there in front of their eyes, in the form of her chest rising and falling regularly, her heartbeat strong and constant in the silence of the room.

"How long before she woke up?" Steve asked, looking at Banner.

He shrugged. "I don't know. It depends on the dosage of the drug they gave her, on how exhausted the whole ordeal had made her. It could be minutes or hours."

Steve nodded. Rhodes sighed and took the chart that was on a side table. Bruce leaned forward, reading it over his shoulder. "I'm surprised she wasn't dehydrated or starving," he quietly said, looking up at his friend.

Natasha chose to answer him: "They needed her healthy. She was leverage on Stark. Killing her or leaving her to die wasn't their goal. _Threatening _to hurt her, to kill her was."

Clint quietly added: "Tony might not have been as lucky."

The colonel leveled his gaze at his before looking back down at the chart. There wasn't much written on it really. A quick description of the bullet wound stating no intern organs had been touched, no massive artery neither, nor her lungs because the bullet had sunk straight into one of her rib. A vein though was pierced which explained the amount of blood. Thankfully the blood flow in veins was slow enough that it hadn't killed her. She would recover quickly and without any after-effects.

It would have been a good enough cause to celebrate if Tony wasn't still in surgery.

The door opened then and they all turned to look at the doctor who had entered. He gave them a tired smile, his features were tight and grim and it didn't look good.

"Doctor?" Steve asked, hope in his voice. Bruce made a face at that. He wasn't sure it was too good for the captain to be so hopeful. He had seen the state of their friend and he might not be a medical doctor but he could recognize bad when he saw it.

"According to his medical file, I should speak to miss Potts, but seeing as…" He gestured at the bed where Pepper was lying, resting from her own operation. "The second person to contact is a James Rhodes."

The colonel's head snapped up. "It's me but… whatever it is you have to say, you can say it to everyone here. They're Tony's friends as well."

Clint, Steve and Thor smiled happily at that, thanking the colonel silently while Natasha nodded. Bruce would have shown his gratitude as well if he hadn't been standing behind the man where he couldn't see him.

"Very well, sir." The doctor sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. "Mister Stark wasn't in a good shape. He had lost a lot of blood from the bullet wound in his shoulder and the wound in his thigh, which he must have had worsened by walking and running probably as well. The gash on his cheek was a bit deep but it should heal fine and not leave much of a trace. He received several hits on the head but there didn't seem to be any lasting effects on his skull and brain. The wound in his arm was infected, not by much but it was more than enough. It was a worrying wound as muscles were torn and nerves were cut. The blade that was used also touched the bone partially just above the elbow, which must have caused a lot of residual pain."

Bruce was feeling himself blanching. He wasn't the only one too. Clint was swallowing, looking a bit green and Steve was paler than he had ever seen him. Natasha was biting hard on her lip as she closed her eyes and Thor was clenching his hands into fists hard, breathing deeply in and out. Rhodes had opened wide eyes and his breathing was losing its regular rhythm. Bruce didn't say anything but he could see the way the dark eyes were glinting – tears were slowly worming their way there. No one blamed him.

The doctor looked uncertain for a second. He wetted his lips before keeping on going on. "This leads us to his broken bones. A finger, from what I gather, that was snapped but should recover fine, a broken nose that, while problematic to his breathing right now, will recover as well. And… Three broken ribs, two on his left side and one on his right." The doctor took a breath. "When he came into our care, one of them had just pierced his lung. Blood had started to gather there. Thankfully it didn't happen before that time, otherwise the situation would have been so much more worse."

Steve put his head in his hands, fingers grasping his hair tightly. Clint caught Natasha's hand and she squeezed back, giving him the silent support he needed. Thor closed his eyes and brought a hand to his heart, head bent forward. It was so much worse than they thought. _Tony, how were you able to stand?_ Bruce wondered as he sat on the chair that was next to the colonel's – he could no longer stand. The colonel had pinched the bridge of his nose, tears leaking from his closed eyes. They had come so close to losing him.

"He went into cardiac arrests twice during the operation." Bruce caught his breath as Steve's head startled up. "He's alive. We put him under artificial respiration and the night should be determining here. He was lucky." The doctor concluded. "He was very lucky."

So damn close.

* * *

**And voilà! Tell me what you think about this one. Are you happy, Pepper's not dead! :) Until next week,**

**AngelShep**


	15. Dancing On the Edge of Death

**Hello again! Here's the newest chapter and... i've got great news! I was inspired so much by IM3 last week that I finished Fragile Is Trust! So you will have a grand total of 19 chapters! =D**

**But right now, please enjoy this one!**

**Oh and I decided to try my hand at challenges so... if you want me to try something, don't hesitate, I'll try my best! But I can't promise it'll be good though :)**

* * *

_**Dancing On the Edge of Death**_

It was wrong.

That was the only thing Steve could think as he looked at the man resting in the bed in front of him. He was so still, so pale, so… vulnerable looking. It was wrong. Two hours had passed since the doctor had come to tell them Tony was out of surgery. The long gruesome list of Tony's injuries had made him want to throw up and looking at the man covered in bandages with a tube in his mouth to keep his breathing steady and regular, the urge was coming right back up.

Pepper who was on the bed next to the genius' one had yet to wake up but Bruce was confident she will soon.

Steve turned his attention to the Avengers who were all around the room, waiting for those two to wake up – well for Pepper to wake up, the doctor had told them Tony wouldn't until the morrow at least due to his heavy surgery. Their eyes kept moving from Tony to any other point in the room, guilt flicking in their pupils every time. Of course they all blamed themselves. Tony would have never gone back to Malibu if they hadn't betrayed him the way they did. He would have been in security with all the Avengers there to help him.

Steve sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He was tired from the search, the fight and the long wait. All of them were and yet none of them wanted to leave the room to get some much needed rest. They couldn't. They needed to see Tony and Pepper, to know they were safe, even if there weren't as sound as they could possibly be.

A movement coming from Pepper's bed caught his attention, as well as Rhodes who was sitting in a chair between the two beds, between his two friends. His head snapped in her direction and he stood up, catching her hand in his. Bruce moved from the couch he sat in, having taken Steve's place earlier, and stood on the bed's other side. All the Avengers' attention snapped to the woman and they waited with baited breath.

Slowly, her eyelids fluttered open, unfocused blue eyes revealing themselves. She blinked several more times before finally resting her attention on Rhodes who was leaning above her.

"Rho… Rhodey?" He smiled and nodded, relief filling him at hearing her voice again. Bruce grabbed a glass of water and handed it to her.

She moved her free hand up and drank avidly. "How are you feeling?" The doctor asked when she was done.

"Strangely good. I… I don't… What happened?" She glanced between all of them and suddenly realized something. "Where's Tony?"

Rhodes was quick to act and calm her before she could panic. "He's here, he's alive." He moved partway to let her see the bed where her lover was. Her eyes moved to him, taking in his body, the heart monitor, the respirator.

"What happened?" she asked again, her attention back on them. Her gaze moved from face to face, making sure to look at them all. Her hand was still in the colonel's ones.

"What do you remember last?" Bruce asked her gently.

She closed her eyes and took a breath. "We were escaping with Tony. We reached a room and there was a lot of people. We were hiding behind boxes." She frowned slightly. "I… I ran to a door. I was supposed to cover Tony so he could do the same." She opened her eyes then. "There was a man behind him, with a gun."

"He was shot in the shoulder, but he's fine Pepper," Rhodes explained.

Natasha cleared her throat. "You weren't as lucky though. You were shot in the chest Pepper."

She widened her eyes and looked, seeming to realize only then she was hurt as well. She slipped her hand out of the Iron Patriot's ones and pushed herself into a more upright position, wincing only slightly. She then moved a hand up to her chest, covering the place where she had been shot, frowning. "I shot back." She looked up at them, eyes uncertain and voice wavering. "I shot back. I… I shot the guy in the head," she whispered, horrified.

And Steve realized, as well as everyone else, what was going on there. Pepper had never killed anyone before. This was the first time. Rhodes stood up and put his hands on her shoulder. "Pepper, look at me, it's alright, okay. Everything's alright."

"I killed him, I killed…" A sudden loud continuous beep cut her off and all their eyes snapped to Tony. A perfect straight line was displayed on the screen of heart monitor. "No… No, no, no!"

Doctors and nurses appeared in the room and pushed all the Avengers in the way aside to work.

They couldn't lose him. Not when they had just got him back, not when they still hadn't earned his trust back. He just couldn't die, he was… Steve couldn't imagine the team without Tony Stark. He couldn't imagine how they could keep on going on if Tony just died and…

He was Tony Stark, he wouldn't let something as ridiculous as that kill him, right?

"Come on, Tony, come on…" That was Rhodes, whispering the same words again and again, eyes fixed on the screen where the flat line seemed to want to stay. Pepper was gripping his arm so tightly, it had to hurt. Her own heart monitor was showing a rapid heartbeat but no one was paying it much attention since it was obvious why.

Then a beep sounded and the flat line moved up and down. Once. Twice. Three times.

They all exhaled slowly while one by one the nurses left the room. Only Tony's doctor stayed, looking over the different machines and his patient. He turned to them and offered them a small smile. "Don't worry, it was expected. We knew the night would be a long one. He will survive, I am sure. From what I gathered he's a fighter."

Pepper smiled and nodded, tears running down her cheeks – she pushed them away angrily. "He is. He survives all the odds."

The doctor acquiesced and turned to Steve. He gestured for him to move forward and the captain frowned but obeyed.

He leaned close to him and whispered: "I know you wanted him here so he could be close to all of you but… For practical reasons, I want to move him to another room. You will be able to go there obviously but one at a time only. Do you understand?"

Steve nodded. He did. He really did. And he wanted Tony to be back on his feet more than he wanted to please everyone by letting them be all with him. If it was in Tony's best interest to be alone in another room for some time, then so be it. "Do you need help to move the bed?"

"Yes, thank you."

Together, they made sure to move the bed as gently as possible, moving the machines that couldn't be removed from Tony with him as well. Bruce, when he noticed what they were doing, joined them, moving the perfusion prop in time with them. The team followed them out with their eyes, but thought better than to move.

The doctor indicated the room next door and they went inside, stopping only when the bed was where it should be. He checked Tony's vitals one last time and gave the captain a look before leaving. "What was that about?" Bruce asked, having noticed the look.

Steve sighed. "He doesn't want more than one person at a time with Tony. It's for him," he added on second thought.

Bruce smiled. "I know. I'll tell the others. We'll make turns. You start."

On those words he left the room, closing the door behind him. Steve sighed and took a seat next to Tony's bed.

And then, now that he was alone, now that he didn't have to be strong for anyone, he let his emotions out, looking at the pale, immobile – except for the slow rise and fall of his chest – figure of a man they were used to being so damn energetic. He closed his hands around Tony's uninjured one and put his forehead on them, closing his eyes, taking a shaky breath. He knew tears were gathering in his eyes; But he wouldn't restrain them. He needed it. They all needed it. The relief of having them both back after a whole day of worrying, after the fight, the waiting around, all those emotions they went through without letting anything out…

It was too much.

"God, Tony, please. Fight. You need to fight and come back. You can do it. I have faith in you, we all have."

* * *

He was feeling strangely light. It was as if he was floating but there was no water and he knew he wasn't in the suit because he never felt light in it – the damn thing was heavy no matter how easy he made it feel like to move in it.

This was something else. The feeling was different.

He realized he wasn't even aware of his whole body – which in turn made him understand why he felt so light. He was on pain meds. Damn good powerful ones if it put him in such a state.

And then he had to wonder why in the first place he was on pain meds because he couldn't for the life of him remember. A mission gone wrong? An explosion perhaps a bit too powerful in the shop? The board finally deciding that they had enough of him not taking them into account? Okay, he'll admit it, that last option was really far-stretched but he liked to entertain the thought that someday they might grow some backbone.

The number one seemed good. One way to find out, right?

Slowly, he opened his eyes, ignoring how heavy they seemed compared to the rest of his body. White. Yeah, well he wasn't expecting anything else because _hello_, hospital, but this was a different white. _Everything_ was white. There were no walls, no seats, no machines, _nothing_, but him. Standing in the middle of no man's land.

"What the hell?"

Then he noticed his body didn't have a scratch.

"Dreaming then. Great."

He blew out a frustrated sigh and looked around, not knowing what else he was supposed to do. It was ridiculous. It felt like some kind of bad movie when the hero was on the verge of dying and suddenly he was…

It all came back to him.

"Pepper," he let out, opening his eyes wide, horror filling him. He couldn't possibly die without knowing what happened to her. Rhodey better had made sure she was safe or… Or he will kill him. And the Avengers, they were all there and…

"Fight."

He froze and frowned. That was Steve's voice.

He rolled his eyes. His hypothesis about the scene from the bad movie? Checked. Sighing, he let himself fall on the ground. He drew his legs towards his chest and closed his arms around his knees, clasping his hands.

It meant he was on the verge of dying. Why? He had been fine. Maybe lost too much blood and probably exhausted as well as suffering from lack of food but… He didn't think it was life threatening. It wasn't. Sure his breathing had turned really bad in the end when he stupidly jolted his ribs to get to his feet and…

Of course.

He was going to put a word on the award for the worst luck ever. He sure as hell was going to win this one.

"They care about you, Tony, you know. You should have seen them."

It was Rhodey. Was he going to hear them all or what?

He was glad to know he was here. It had been quite some time since they had last seen each other and he was eager to catch up on lost time. And to have someone else to talk to about the Avengers problem.

He wasn't even sure where he stood on that particular point anymore.

They came. And it was great. Really. And they saved Pepper too and he couldn't be any more thankful. And they cared if he listened to Rhodey. Another point for them. Wasn't it all just freaking perfect?

He clenched his hands and groaned, closing his eyes tightly. He didn't know anymore. He was tired, he just wanted to let it go, but he just couldn't and it was so…

"For what it's worth, you look pretty bad, genius. If I were you, I'll wake up just to fix that."

That brought a smile to his lips. Clint and his stupid humor. All those idiotic pranks they did together, it was good, it was fun. It was… nice. Like having a brother to mess around with.

Trust. Big problem of his life. How do you trust people when they don't really care about you, just want to use you to get to your father, to your money, to your company? How do you trust people when they see the brain, the genius, but not the person behind it? How do you trust people when you've been betrayed by one of the closest thing you had to a family?

How do you trust the people who broke it because they didn't trust you enough once?

Why did it have to be so damn hard? He was so damn tired of all of this. What was he supposed to do? They became family to him. All of them. And for someone who had a family that wasn't so much of one, it was big. For someone who lived all his life in the projectors, who lost his innocence when he was too young because of who was his father, something as simple, as ridiculous as that was too important, too fragile.

_I care too much about people who care too little about me_. He didn't remember when he had said this, but it was probably what could sum him up when it comes to emotions and feelings and people.

"Pepper wanted you to know today is December sixteenth. She said you'd know what it meant."

December sixteenth.

Tony laid one leg down while he put his elbow over the other's knee. He looked down at his fingers, flexing them slowly. It was the day his parents died. Twenty-one years before. The sixteenth of December 1991. He wanted to go for once. He hadn't gone for over ten years now. Didn't have the time, didn't feel well enough to go.

He didn't even know why he felt the need to go now.

He wanted to take Steve with him. Seemed right. Fitting. The man his father had wanted him to be with the son that never reached the too high expectations going to honor the one person that played a big role in both of their lives.

And his mother. His sweet mother who became someone she wasn't because of Howard. Who couldn't be there as much as she wanted to for him. _You have her heart, Tony_. Whispered words on cold lonely nights spent up waiting for a mother that had to be showed off to people who just wanted to lick his father's boots. Jarvis' voice the only sound in the room as his hand ran through his hair while he clenched his pillow because he knew better than to cry.

_You have her heart_.

He ran his hand through his hair and closed his eyes. He was so tired.

"You must fight, Friend Tony. Your Lady needs you. We, your friends, need you."

Thor was right. He couldn't just let go, Pepper… Pepper needed him. And he needed to make sure she was okay. He needed to see it with his own eyes. And he had to take care of the men who hurt her.

Victor.

He had to take care of him. The man probably hadn't been there when the Avengers arrived – they never were. It was his fault. Pepper had been hurt because of him. She had to go through all of this because of that scumbag. He was to blame. The guilt surged through him, filled him, took over.

He clenched his fists.

He was going to pay.

"Tony? Tony, no, damn it, don't go!"

There was pain now. So much pain. He wildly made a move at his chest and grabbed the reactor. He ignored the burn he felt and groaned. His head, his heart, his chest, everything hurt so freaking much. What the hell was going on?

"Tony!"

He opened his eyes wide. That was Pepper's voice.

He needed to fight for her. He had to see her. One last time at the very least.

But it hurt so damn much and he couldn't breathe, there was something wrong with his lungs, something was in the damn way.

He fell forward, only stopping inches from the ground by putting his left hand in front of him. Pain flared up his arm and he opened his eyes, letting out a grunt. His finger was broken. There was blood on his arm, it was covered in it. And he recognized this. Those were his injuries, the ones he had gained when in their hands. Something had gone wrong. Was he dying?

_He _ was covered with blood. His arm gave out and he fell on his side, his breathing short.

He rolled onto his back. He was looking up at the sky. It wasn't white anymore.

He frowned, wondering why.

There was the sound of water – no, waves. He turned his head to the side and saw the ocean. He realized he was on the sand, not the white floor he was on seconds ago. Where was he?

There was someone, standing with their legs in the water up to their knees. He squinted, trying to see them better. It was a woman, with cream-colored skin, and strawberry hair. She was wearing a blue summer dress. She was watching him with a smile on her face, blue eyes shining. She was breathtaking – and he didn't have that much breath to lose to begin with.

"Pepper…"

He tried to move but it only caused more pain and he closed his eyes, turning his head back up. Why… Why was she here? Was she… dead?

There was suddenly hands cupping his face and he opened his eyes. It wasn't Pepper this time. It was an older woman with long dark brown hair, falling in loose curls around her lightly tanned skin. Warm hazel eyes were fixed on his while a loving smile was on her lips.

"Mom?" he whispered. He couldn't believe his own eyes. Was it the pain that made him see things? Was he dead himself? It seemed to be the most logical answer.

"Wake up, sweetheart. They're waiting for you. Just wake up."

He closed his eyes, feeling more tired than ever before, and felt her lips on his forehead.

And then nothing.

* * *

**... What do you think? Please tell me!**

**AngelShep**


	16. Harsh Reality

**Hello ! Sorry for not updating yesterday as I always do but I didn't have any connection for the last few days so... Anyway, chapter 16, here it is. **

**Enjoy as always!**

* * *

_**Harsh Reality**_

Steve wiped his eyes and took a shaky breath. Clint knew he hadn't gone to see Pepper since the day before. He couldn't face her. He couldn't handle her sadness, her desperation, her cries anymore. Rhodes and Natasha were staying with her all the time, never leaving her alone. Bruce was there with them most of the time too. Thor would go sometimes but he mostly stayed away. Clint as well. He was more often than not with him.

The both of them couldn't handle the tears of the woman ever since the news had fallen on them.

Clint sighed and closed his eyes. He ran a hand on his face and wondered how they had gotten to that point.

A stupid mistake made over a month ago couldn't possibly have that much consequences. He couldn't believe it. He had to believe that even if they hadn't lost Tony's trust, it could have happened. Not that he wanted it to happen. God if it could have never happened it would have been so much better.

But it had.

They couldn't go back in time to prevent it. They had to make do with it.

He opened his eyes again and his gaze fell on the Captain. He was slumped on his chair, looking more defeated than he ever had, his eyes were red from crying too much, huge rings under his eyes. They all looked bad but he was probably the worst. Pepper was taking it the worst, Rhodes wasn't that far behind, but Steve was the one who truly looked the worst. But no one blamed him.

He moved his eyes to the bed where Tony was still lying, completely still. It had been four days. He survived the first night with great difficulty, his heart stopping three times, the last one being the worst and leading to him falling in a coma. The doctors weren't very optimistic. There had been no sign he would wake up. He hadn't moved, his encephalogram wasn't showing anything new since they linked him on it. Except for the new cardiac arrest the day before. But they'd rather forget all about this one and what it could possibly mean.

Fury had come twice, to have news, to reassure them that there were nothing new on the guys that took them. Pepper had described the guy that escaped them, saying he said his name was Victor, but she doubted it truly was that.

Clint had rarely seen the director worried and anxious, but he was. He hid it well but it was still there for the expert eye to see.

"Come on Tony. Wake up." Clint glanced at Steve, without saying anything.

What could he say? He wanted to believe as much as he did that telling the genius to wake up would be enough. He wanted Tony to wake up, _dammit_. He wanted to hit something, to yell at Tony that now wasn't the time to be a stubborn pain in the ass and to just do what people ask of him. They weren't asking him to make weapons, to go against everything he believed him, they were asking to _wake up_, if not for them, for the woman he loved that was lying in her bed next door.

"You can fight this, I _know_ it."

Steve's voice was the only sound in the room apart from the constant and regular beep showing Tony's heart was still beating, that the man was still there with them. It was their one proof, their only proof really because the lifeless, ghostlike figure on the bed sure wasn't. He wasn't on artificial respirator anymore, which was good because it meant he was breathing on his own, but it didn't make him seem more alive.

And then suddenly they both froze.

A small wave – different from the ones they got till now – on the encephalogram.

Clint got up from his position on the floor, while Steve grabbed Tony's hand. "Tony? Wake up, come on, you can do it."

Another one. The archer rushed forward, moving to Tony's other side. His eyes were on the monitor, not missing the more and more frequent waves on it. "That's it, Tony. Wake up…"

He moved his eyes to Tony's face, looking for any sign he would wake up. Steve gasped then as his eyes flew to the hand he was holding. Clint followed his gaze and frowned.

Tony's finger was moving. It was the first movement he made in four days.

Steve squeezed his hand back. Clint grabbed the remote and pushed the button, calling for doctors and nurses. "Come on, genius, wake up," he whispered.

His eyes moved under his eyelids and suddenly they were opening. Slowly, oh so slowly but they were. Steve let out a short strangled laugh of joy and relief as his eyes filled with tears again. Clint wasn't that far behind. This whole thing had taken a toll on all of them and really, seeing Tony alive and finally showing signs of being there was such a relief they figured they were allowed to cry.

Tony's eyes moved to Steve's face and brown unfocused orbs stared. His forehead creased slightly as he tried to associate a name to the face. Steve grinned at him, squeezing his hand again. Clint had chosen the wrong side to be because Tony's left arm was a no touch zone.

"St… Steve?" His voice was raw and barely audible but it felt so good to hear him.

Steve's face lit up as he nodded eagerly. "Yeah, Tony. It's me. You're alright okay. You're safe and Pepper too."

His eyelids fluttered for a moment before he managed to still them so he could keep on looking at the Captain. "Why…" Clint frowned as well as Steve. Tony's lips were still moving but he couldn't hear him. Steve leaned forward, frowning more and more as he listened to what the man was saying.

"Tony… Are you really asking me…" The soldier didn't have time to finish because the doctors entered then and Tony chose that moment to close his eyes and fall back asleep, too exhausted to stay awake any longer.

But he wasn't in a coma anymore.

"Please, let us get access to him."

They moved reluctantly but knowing they had to for Tony's sake. Once they were leaning against the wall, Clint decided to ask then what Tony said.

Steve looked at him with a sad gaze, blue eyes looking so vulnerable then that the archer wondered if he really wanted to know. "He… He asked why…" He closed his eyes and exhaled shortly. "Why we didn't trust him enough if…it was because we didn't care."

Clint's eyes widened. "He believes we don't care about him? Do you think it's because…"

Steve shrugged. "He may have not meant it. You know with the coma, the meds he's on…"

"You don't believe that." Clint pointed, crossing his arms.

"I don't know what to believe any longer."

He couldn't have agreed more.

* * *

There was pain in the back of his mind but he could easily ignore it. What he couldn't ignore was the way his mind felt foggy and his body felt light despite the dull ache it was under. Was he again in that stupid white room?

One way to find out.

He opened his eyes carefully, his mind clearing enough that he could make out voices around him. He was on a bed and there was the regular sound of a heartbeat next to him.

Hospital. It wasn't much better but at least, it meant that whatever that place he was in before was gone.

His vision was blurry and he was having a hard time discerning any forms around him. They were moving too fast and they were too complicated for his fuzzy brain right now.

He concentrated, trying to focus as much as he could to make out who was around him. He strained his ears to be able to understand what they were saying. He didn't remember how he got into that situation – which was probably due to the pain meds he was hooked up to. He hated that sensation of not knowing, not being in control. He didn't like painkillers for that reason. His mind was sharp, and he liked it that way, not this clouded version of it which didn't seem to be able to do anything at all.

"…fine according to the doc."

"When will he wake up?"

Now? They were talking about him, that much he could guess and they hadn't noticed he was awake. Great. Well, at least, it allowed him time to focus and _really_ wake up.

"Help me up and shut up, Rhodey."

That was Pepper. He could recognize that voice and the tone that went with it everywhere, even if completely out of it – which he was right now.

Why did she need help to get up? He knew that he should know. It must be somewhere in the back of his mind, behind the fog that seemed to cloud it. Oh God how he hated that feeling. He wanted, he _needed_ to know. Something had happened to him and Pepper. But what…

_Stay with me, Pep, you hear me? You. Stay. With. Me._

He gasped and his eyes flew open.

"Tony!" Suddenly there were arms and hands around him, voices telling, asking him to calm down. But he couldn't. Pain flared at his side and he started panicking, his breathing troubled.

He remembered. _Hell_ if he did.

Pure rage and anger, as well as fear, filled him. He wanted revenge. He didn't care about calming down, about being the good guy. He wanted to burn Victor for thinking he could hurt Pepper. Revenge for himself as well, to show him up you don't mess with Tony Stark.

He clenched his right fist, remembering his left arm was injured. His mind was perfectly clear again, his vision was wonderfully sharp again. Bruce, Steve, Rhodey were there around him. Clint and Natasha were at his feet, looking concerned. Thor was behind them, his presence a hovering shadow and force. And then there was Pepper, in front of him, her hands on his chest, pleading with him to calm. But the only things he could see were the bruise on her face and the hospital dress she was wearing that didn't cover completely the bandages on her right shoulder.

Where she was shot.

He could hear the frantic beeping of the cardiac monitor next to him but he didn't care. Not at all. He didn't want to hear them say he needed to stay in bed, because he had to heal. He didn't want to hear them say they could take care of those guys. He wanted them to leave him alone and let him do whatever the hell he wanted to.

"Tony, please. Listen to me."

"Did you catch him?" he asked, eyes burning through the captain.

"Catch… Catch who, Tony?"

"Victor or whatever the hell is his name, I don't give a damn. _Did you catch him_?" Steve exchanged a glance with the others, who were looking uneasy. Tony caught on immediately. "Oh no. Don't you dare not tell me."

"Tony, you need to heal, we'll take care of them, just…" Bruce cut him off.

But he should know better. He wasn't one to wait around. He wasn't going to stay here while they took care of the guy who threatened him, who threatened Pepper, who was after_ him_. He could take care of it himself, he didn't need their help. He didn't need _them_ in his way.

"No. I will. I don't need time. I'm fine. I don't need to heal. I need to take care of that guy that I guess you didn't catch." He sat up and groaned when Bruce and Clint grabbed his legs to prevent him from moving. He was on pain meds, he barely felt the pain. "Let me go," he gritted out.

"No. You're not going anywhere. You're not in any position to make any decisions and you're not thinking clearly." Pepper threw Steve a warning glance, trying to tell him to stop here before he said the word that was too much. She knew him well. "We're your teammates, let us deal with this threat while you took the time to heal. Trust us, we will…"

"Trust _you_?" he scoffed. Pepper winced as did Rhodey. "Are you fucking kidding me, Rogers?"

"Tony, I didn't…"

"You meant it perfectly and you know it."He jerked his foot and released it from Clint's grasp. "Do you have any idea of where that guy might be?" He asked sitting up and ignoring the look Bruce sent him.

Natasha crossed her arms. "No. Now Stark, here's what you're gonna do and I'm not leaving it open to discussions. You're going to stay here with Pepper and you're going to heal and get better. _We_," she indicated the rest of the team, "are going to find him and take care of him."

He glared at her, clenching his hand so tight, he felt his arm tremble. She wanted to play it that way. Fine. Two could play that game. It wasn't a matter of trust anymore. It was another thing entirely. He trusted them to take care of the problem but he wanted to take care of it _himself_.

But he knew when to choose his battles. This one wasn't one worth to fight.

He huffed angrily and turned away, glaring at the ground, knowing it would seem to them he was giving up but showing them he wasn't happy with this choice. He heard movement and waited until the door was closed before looking back. Pepper and Rhodey were still there, watching him with raised eyebrows.

"You are an awful actor," Rhodey pointed out.

"I'm fooling them, so I must not be that bad. But good to see you too, platypus." He smiled and shook his head. Pepper pried his fist open and took his hand between hers. "Let's get to work, shall we?"

"Tony." He turned his head towards her, ignoring the pleading eyes she was sending him to focus on the fading bruise on her cheek and lips. "Take at the very least a couple of hours. I know you won't be persuaded not to go after that Victor guy, but please. Just a few hours."

He moved his eyes to hers and sighed, knowing a couple of hours wasn't much and was probably good. He nodded and laid back down. "Fine, okay. Couple of hours." He turned his head to Rhodey. "You said… You said they cared."

He frowned. "I…" Then his eyebrows snapped up as he realized what he was talking about. "You heard?"

"Yeah. All of it. I don't…" He sighed. "I just want things back the way they were before."

Rhodey leaned forward and put his hands on a safe part of his left arm. "Tony," he started firmly. He stared at him, feeling Pepper laid down next to him. She put her head on his shoulder and ran a hand through his hair, the other one still holding onto his. "I may not have as much issues as you do, I may not be the most reliable one on such a subject but… If there is something I know it's this." He indicated the door behind him. "Those guys, they're some of the most trustworthy people I know. They didn't hesitate Tony. They jumped right in, with almost no plan, no idea what they were up against. They didn't _care_. They just wanted to save the both of you."

He shrugged. "I didn't know them, I met them when I was angry because of what they did to you, and, as I said, I may not be a good judge here when it comes to trust, but… I trusted them with my back and my life. I trusted them with you and Pepper, Tony."

Tony looked away, refusing to meet anyone's eyes. He just wanted it all to be over. "Tony," Pepper whispered. Her hand was on his cheek and turned his head so he could look at her and meet her eyes. "Rest. You can think about it all once you've rested."

He nodded and shuffled a bit on the bed, getting into a more comfortable position, wincing a bit when his ribs protested. He closed his eyes and tried to put his mind at ease. But his thoughts were in a turmoil, not leaving him alone.

He had trusted them as well. He had trusted them back there. He knew they would find them and rescue them. He trusted them with Pepper. He knew they had his back. He knew he could count on them.

He trusted them again.

Just not… _fully_.

He didn't believe he could overcome the fact they betrayed his trust so fast. He needed more time to do that.

But they had his trust back. Partly at least. Enough to trust them with his life and Pepper's. Just not enough to let them in completely again.

His heart wouldn't be able to take the pain again. He'd been betrayed too many times, he was broken beyond repair where trust was concerned for that.

And that left Victor. The simple thought of him filled him with a burning rage. He would find him and take care of him himself, even if he had to get through the Avengers for that. He had personally attacked him, he had dared touch Pepper, he would pay and by his hand.

Revenge would be sweet.

Oh so sweet.

* * *

Bruce rubbed his eyes tiredly while listening distantly to what the others were saying. Fury had not been happy to learn what Tony wanted to do. And now here they were talking about what they should do and right now they were getting nowhere. They had no idea how they should begin to look for that guy. Pepper had given them a description but it wasn't enough.

And Bruce knew they might need Tony to find him. Tony and his resources. Tony and his computers. His intellect. His hacking. Just Tony.

Tony whom they didn't want to take a part of the search for fear he would lose himself in his thirst for revenge.

The situation was oh so messed up.

"I don't understand why you do not want the Man of Iron to be a part of this quest. He wishes to find the man who hurt the Lady Potts, why is it wrong?" Thor asked, his voice overpowering everyone else's.

They all turned to look at the god and Bruce bit his lip. Formulating this way, it wasn't wrong. But Tony didn't want to just find him, he wanted to kill him, of that none of them doubted. The man had gone after him, after Pepper; he had no chance to get out of this alive.

Steve took a breath and stepped forward. "Tony wants revenge Thor. Sure he wants to find him, but not to give him away to be judged."

Thor frowned. Bruce didn't blame him. He knew it wasn't the concept of revenge he didn't understand, it was associating it with Tony he had a hard time to do. Bruce understood why. The man they knew wasn't one who got angry easily, he got down sure, but he was the cheerful one, the not so serious one most of the time. Even in battle.

But Bruce was aware Tony had a dark side as well.

"It is not that surprising, though." Their heads snapped to Fury who was standing at the edge of the room, arms crossed, looking at the sky and sea through the window. "Stark made quite a mess when he escaped Afghanistan. He didn't leave anything behind besides corpses and pieces of metal that were too destroyed to hope to be able to recuperate them."

"But he had to escape, he didn't…"

"He burned them. All of them. He didn't have to, captain. This was pure revenge."

Steve opened his mouth to say something but realized there was nothing he could say. Bruce looked down and pinched the bridge of his nose. There was no way they could stop Tony from getting his revenge. No matter what they said, what they did, short of tying him down and locking him up, that could change his mind.

"He didn't give up, did he?" Steve asked, turning to Natasha.

"Of course not. But there was no point in insisting." She shrugged and put her hands on her hips.

Clint snorted. "That's one way to put it." Bruce smiled and shook his head. He pushed his glasses back on his nose and looked back at the captain who was looking utterly miserable.

"Steve, you can't blame yourself. Tony makes his own decisions."

"He wouldn't be making this decision if we hadn't betrayed him in the first place."

Fury turned to them and clasped his hands behind his back. "You don't know that, Captain. Those people were after Stark long before you made this mistake. It may have ended up worse for all you know."

"How? We almost lost, not only Tony, but Pepper as well. They were on the verge of dying, Tony… Tony's heart stopped about six times and… I don't see how it could have been worse than this whole mess!" Steve exclaimed, throwing his hands up, finally letting out everything he felt.

"They could have taken Pepper to get to Tony. If he was protected and out of their reach most of the time, she wasn't. What do you think would have happened if they had gone after Pepper?" Fury asked, looking at him with raised eyebrows.

Bruce sighed and crossed his arms. "Tony might have broken down. If Pepper… Can you imagine how Tony would have reacted?"

Clint winced. "Bad. Very bad. He would have rushed in and destroyed all of them without any real plan."

"We need to let him have his revenge. We just have to be there with him, to make sure he doesn't lose himself in the process," Bruce finished. He received nods from Thor, Clint and Natasha, showing him they agreed with the plan.

"And then what? Do you think he will trust us? He knows we want to stop him," Steve replied, looking at him with a torn expression. Bruce understood it was against his morals to let someone just kill by pure anger, to get revenge, pay back. But after what that someone had done…

"We won't. We will be behind him, by his side. We won't be in his way. Just a support in the hard times to come." Bruce smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry Steve, but it's nothing but the harsh truth, the harsh reality. There is nothing more we can do."

The captain closed his eyes and nodded, bowing his head. He didn't like it but he guessed he didn't have much of a choice if he didn't want to lose their friend.

Bruce wished things could be different.

* * *

_****_**Voilà! What do you think? Reviews are love? :)**

**Send any challenges you might have too!**

**AngelShep**


	17. What Family Is

**Hello, hello! Here's the new chapter! We're getting closer and closer of the end, hope you will enjoy this one! **

* * *

_**What Family Is**_

Tony couldn't help but smile at the sight that greeted him when the doors of the elevator opened. Rhodey snorted by his side while Pepper grinned. They had put a lot of effort and thought into it, they could see it. The whole room was decorated with fluffy party stuff such as banderoles that said 'Welcome back' and balloons in bright red and gold. There was a cake on the coffee table, but it wasn't what touched him the most.

Near the bar stood a grand Christmas tree decorated with gold and silver tinsel garlands, strings of lights and the typical golden star at the very top. White angels glistened on the counter and hung from the ceiling while false snow had been scattered on the floor and furniture.

He didn't remember the last time he had had a real Christmas tree when that time of the year came around. It was probably when he was a child and Jarvis would ask him to help with the decorations. Before he understood he'll never have the family holidays he should on that day because his parents were always too busy even then.

He shook himself out of those miserable memories and turned his eyes to the Avengers who were looking at him with hopeful expressions. Did they expect him to be angry at them for doing this?

"It's lovely," Pepper whispered, "don't you think?" she added turning to him.

He turned to look at her, admiring the way the flashing lights illuminated her pale skin and red hair, the way her blue eyes seemed to shine. "Yes, it is." He turned back to the Avengers. "Awesome job, guys, but when the holidays are done, don't expect me to help with moving everything."

Rhodey rolled his eyes at him and gave him the crutch he had let go of in disdain when they arrived in the elevator. Tony glared at him but snatched it anyway, knowing he was in no position to complain when there were several super strong guys in the room willing to tie him down to make sure he didn't put too much weight on his right leg.

He had stayed a whole week in the medical wing of the Helicarrier because the doctors wanted to be sure he took the time to rest, which meant no walking or working. The only things he was allowed to have were his phone and his Starkpad – it was enough to start his search of the Victor guy, but still. He was happy to finally be released and back home. And the surprise waiting here only made him happier.

Pepper walked in front of him and hugged Bruce, thanking him for the whole thing – he guessed she knew and Bruce was unsurprisingly behind it. Rhodey gave him a smile before joining Clint with whom he got along well.

He didn't join the group, choosing instead to go to the tree. He stopped in front of it and sighed, taking it in. He couldn't believe how such simple things could affect him so much. His eyes fell on a small angel hanging from one of the branches and he smiled a bit before catching it with his left hand carefully and moving it towards him. He examined it for a second, remembering a much different time when a much smaller hand had gripped a less white and less bright angel, trying to put it on a branch that was out of his reach.

Simple memories of a time he felt lonelier than he realized.

"Tony?" He turned his head to see Steve standing uncertainly not far from him.

He smiled reassuringly and raised the object in his hand. "Just looking around, Cap. It's been…" He looked back at the angel. "It's been a long time since I truly celebrated Christmas."

He frowned a bit, wondering why it sounded sadder than he meant it. Maybe because it was. He knew that when people didn't celebrate Christmas it was because they had no one to celebrate it with. Why celebrate the one celebration that was all about family and being with people you loved when you didn't have anyone to share it with?

"Tony? Are you okay?"

He managed a smile and nodded. "Yeah. I'm just…" He gestured at the rest of the room where they had put together their small welcome back party. "Surprised and happy, I guess." _Overwhelmed_, his mind whispered to him. He ignored it.

"We wanted you to feel good for coming back home. We're all so happy to finally have you both back you know." Steve shrugged sheepishly and grinned that innocent and naïve smile of his that was so damn frustrating.

"Well, well done then." He turned back to the tree to put the angel back on it. "I'm home. We both are, Steve."

"That's great!" He heard his footsteps retreating and sighed.

They knew he trusted them again, even though they were still uncertain about it. He hadn't borne the thought of leaving them hanging. He wouldn't want someone to do it to him, he wasn't about to do it to someone else.

He remembered the look on Clint's face when he asked him how his bow and arrows were doing. He had looked at him with wide disbelieving eyes, mouth hanging opened and eyebrows almost to his hairline. And then he had laughed out loud, saying it was a good joke. Tony had to admit, he had laughed too, but for different reasons – Clint's face being the main one.

"Long time since I laughed like that, Legolas, but seriously, how you're doing on them?"

"Good, but I don't see…"

"No need for improvements? Not running low on arrows? I had this idea for your bow, I still don't think it's conceived enough, I could make it smaller. As for your arrows, I was thinking of something less… messy when they explode, you know."

Clint raised a hand to stop him, eyes boring into his. "You… You're serious. You really want to improve my _weapons_?" He didn't miss the accent on _weapons_ and he felt grateful for that. The archer was a good friend, understanding perfectly why he couldn't make weapons for him before.

But that was before. "Sure. Bring them and we'll talk about what I can do." Clint's eyes lit up, a grin spreading on his face as he raised both his thumbs up.

And _that_ look made it worth it. The simple joy on his face at the thought Tony trusted him again.

And not just Clint, but the others as well.

Natasha's surprised eyes which had quickly disappeared, followed by that small quirk of her lips she couldn't quite conceal when he gave her the code to one of his weaponries (not the best one, he couldn't quite do that yet). Thor's bright grin and good mood from the moment he put one of his precious phones in his huge hands, telling him how to use it. Bruce's touched smile when he got the key to every single one of his houses around the world.

Steve's wavering smile and glinting eyes when Tony asked him to sit to tell him one memory of his father, that he cherished a lot because it had been a rare occasion – no drunk father, no resentment on his part, just Tony and his dad, late one night as he was about to go to sleep. Stories about a long lost friend, told through a thick throat, a reassuring smile and small arms encircling a waist, a whispered promise that the lost hero would be found because the little boy was too innocent, too naïve, too optimist then to believe otherwise – he had turned out right in the end, Steve had been found, just not by his father.

He didn't know whether they knew they didn't have his trust back at one-hundred percent. It was more of a ninety-five percent thing. He doubted the last five percent will ever come back, there will always be this fear at the back of his mind that they could betray him just like they did once. And he couldn't afford to be betrayed once again. Maybe it wasn't fair, maybe he wasn't being a great teammate, but he didn't care. If there was one thing he was going to be selfish about, one thing he deserved to be selfish about, it was this.

He moved his eyes to the team, Pepper and Rhodey, talking, laughing, smiling. His grip on his crutch tightened. As hard as it was for them to make it work and as dysfunctional as they were, those people were his family. And if there was one thing he was going to do, it was to protect it no matter what. Especially when he was the one bringing the threat to his family.

He slipped his left hand carefully inside his pocket to retrieve his phone. In a few seconds he was back on the trail of Victor, aka Han Newman. He was going to find him, it was only a matter of time.

* * *

Clint knew something was up with Tony.

He was too cheerful, too much… not-Tony, he was all about forced smiles and awkward pats on the back and agreements to pretty much everything they said. That wasn't Tony Stark. That was an alien that had taken the place and face of their friend – except of course it wasn't, but you get the idea. The only reason Clint could find to this attitude was that Tony had found the guy he was looking for. The thing was he didn't tell them.

Clint didn't know what to think anymore. Tony obviously trusted them again. What he'd done to show them was proof enough even if it wasn't an outright 'I trust you guys', it was still enough so that they understood what it meant. Then why didn't he tell them about that Victor guy? Did he truly want to take care of it by himself? Was there something else they didn't know about?

Clint didn't know, but he intended on finding out. And who was better than the colonel James Rhodes and Pepper Potts to ask about Tony Stark?

So here he was, preparing himself to a difficult discussion with the two people who knew Tony the best. He didn't know whether they would even answer him or not. But he had to try.

"Hum…" He looked uncertainly between the two of them, whose heads had snapped to him the moment he cleared his throat. "Am I interrupting something?"

Pepper offered him a smile while Rhodey raised an amused eyebrow. "No you're not Clint. What is it?"

He shuffled a bit before stepping forward and taking a seat next to Rhodes. Between him and Pepper, he'd rather take his wrath than hers – he'd seen her angry at the billionaire before and he didn't want to face _that_. "I… It's Tony."

Pepper sighed and leaned forward, putting her elbows on her crossed legs. Rhodes crossed his arms and leaned back on the couch. "What did he do?"

"Nothing, he just… I think he's hiding something from us," Clint blurted out.

Rhodes sighed and rubbed his fingers over his eyes. "Victor… His real name is Han Newman. Tony found out the day before he got out of SHIELD."

Clint opened his mouth to say something but Pepper's hand on his knee stopped him. "You must understand Tony is used to solving his own problems alone. He was alone most of his life and he was taught to not let anyone into your messes."

"I don't blame him Pepper. I really don't and I understand that he may be reluctant to trust us but…" Clint shook his head. "It's been six months. He knows we're here to help him. We won't mock him or push him away just because he asks for our help."

Rhodes exchanged a glance with Pepper and threw him a half-smile. "He won't ask. Never. You have to give it to him. You have to help him. If you wait for him to ask, then it'll never happen."

Clint rolled his eyes. "Now's not the time to be proud."

"It's not pride – not completely," Pepper said, cutting him. "Tony is…" She looked at Rhodes trying to get his help, trying to find the words.

"He built the first reactor in a cave with craps. Same thing for the suit. He's a genius. He has the money, the brain. He may not be the strongest physically but what he has largely makes up for it. It's not just pride, Clint. He doesn't want to appear weak next to you all because you're all stronger than he is and you're smart enough to get out of difficult situations as well."

Pepper sighed. "He can't know I'm telling you this but… He wasn't supposed to be part of the team. And… Tony feels the need to prove himself worth it. He believes sometimes he's the weakest link on this team."

This was clearly a sore point for Pepper and Rhodes. The pained and sad expressions on their faces told him as much. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. He'd never thought Tony would put his worth down like this. They never once thought he was weak. Brave? Yes. Incredibly smart? Sure. An arrogant ass? When he was being one, of course. But weak? No.

"He's not weak. We never… We know he's not trained like Tasha and me, or indestructible like Bruce and Thor or super strong like Steve, but… that doesn't mean he's weak."

"You're preaching to the converted, Clint," Pepper answered softly. "You have to convince Tony of that. Not us."

Clint nodded and stood up, ready to go, but the colonel stopped him. "Clint!" He turned around and raised an eyebrow. "Tony knows where the guy is. If I were you, I wouldn't wait much longer or you'll have Iron Man leaving you in the dust while he flies ahead."

The archer's lips quirked and he left them both, determined to put into Tony's thick skull that they were going to help him because they were family, not because he was weak. And family helped each other out.

* * *

Tony pursed his lips as he leaned back in his chair. He wanted to go right then after mister Newman, but today was Christmas. Pepper would kill him if he went out now. He sighed, wondering how he could get himself tangled into such messes.

"Jarvis, log that in my private server, I'll take care of it after Christmas."

"Of course, Sir. Do you need anything else?" The AI's smooth voice echoed in the shop.

Tony smiled and shook his head. "No, it's fine." He grabbed with disgust the crutch and pushed himself onto his feet. "Shut everything down, I don't think I'm coming back until tomorrow."

"Very well Sir. May I inform you of the upcoming arrival of the Avengers?" Tony frowned and looked at the glass door of the shop, effectively seeing the five other members of the team striding purposely towards him.

"Thanks for the heads-up." He looked back at the chair and chose to sit, knowing this might take some time. He leaned back and crossed his arms on his chest, making the chair move from side to side with his feet. "Open the door for them."

"Already done Sir."

They came in and walked to him. Clint jumped on a nearby desk and casually sat, Natasha went to stand by his side as usual. Bruce sat next to him on the chair available and offered him a smile. Thor stood stiffly, away from any equipment he might break by accident. Finally Steve went to stand beside the demigod, looking slightly uncomfortable and not knowing what to do with himself it seemed.

"Sooo… what's going on?" Tony asked, looking at all of them with an inquiring expression.

Bruce glanced at Clint who shrugged. Tony narrowed his eyes slightly. It seemed the archer was the one behind this thing then. "We… We noticed you've been… avoiding talking about Victor."

"Or should we say Han Newman?" Clint added, raising an eyebrow, looking directly at him.

Tony rolled his eyes. Of course they talked to Pepper and Rhodey. Obviously, the two of them would tell them. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, before rubbing the back of his head. "So you know."

"That you know the name of the guy? Yes," Steve answered crossing his arms.

"That you know where he is? We do as well," added Natasha with a smile and a tilt of her head.

Tony made a face and refused to look at any of them, focusing on Dummy standing a few feet away and looking at the scene curiously. "That's great then I guess there's no secret between us, isn't there?" He sounded more dejected than he wanted, but he was blaming it on the painkillers Pepper forced him to take. Sure they were great for the pain his ribs inflected on him, but they were no good for his control over his emotions.

"Well we do know you know, but we don't know where he is," Thor stated in a carefully controlled voice. Points up for the big guy for keeping his voice low.

Tony nodded, still watching Dummy who was now approaching inconspicuously, hiding behind desks that were smaller than him and peeking above the glass surface with his arm. He had to fight back a grin – he loved that bot. He saw Steve frown and turn around but Dummy quickly hid, bringing his arm down. Tony choked back his laughter and cleared his throat when he received confused looks. "Yeah, yeah, you… You don't know where he is. That's about right, I guess. I mean how could you know when I didn't tell Pepper and Rhodey cause I knew they would tell you if you ask, since, let's face it, they don't agree with this thing, so _of course_ they would tell you. You wanna know I figure, but it's not that simple, and anyway it's Christmas so there's no chasing bad guys on Christmas. Even bad guys take a break on Christmas." He gestured at the door, watching Dummy move behind Thor and Steve, who were both oblivious to the robot. "By the way, there's a wonderful meal awaiting us, real great, best chef in town, you don't want to wait till it gets cold right? We should go eat."

"You're rambling," Bruce stated dryly.

"Kinda notice," Tony mumbled letting his hand drop on his thigh, knowing he wasn't about to escape that one. Dummy peeked between the two heroes' head and tilted his head.

"Tony, we want to help you, that's all. Who knows how many guys will be there with him. He'll be waiting for you." Tony closed his eyes and straightened up a bit in his chair, bowing his head slightly. He knew Bruce was right, he didn't need to hear it.

"Why won't you accept our help?"

He stayed silent, eyes on the ground, staring a hole into it. "It's what family does, Tony. They help each other out when they need it," Clint softly said.

_Not my family_, Tony thought bitterly, remembering briefly one time when he was sick and his parents couldn't come, not even his mother because they were on the other side of the country and there was an important fundraising for the company. More important than him.

_Don't go there_, he reprimanded himself. "I can handle that guy."

"Tony, is it safe for you to put on the suit right now?" Bruce asked, raising an eyebrow, daring him to say it was.

Because three recently broken ribs, as well as the deep wounds in his arm and leg didn't allow him to move much, so certainly not to fly in the suit and throw himself into his revenge.

"Not really," he sighed, conceding the point.

"If you don't want all of us to help then let just one of us help, Tony." He looked at Natasha with a raised eyebrow wondering who she was talking about. Which one they thought was the best to help him?

Clint smiled. "He's been dying to knock some sense into our heads ever since this whole mess began over a month ago, and I think he deserved his chance to defend you." Tony frowned wondering who it was; he didn't see anyone that…

His eyes widened and he snapped his head towards Bruce. "Are you kidding? The big guy?"

Just then Steve and Thor were pushed and fell on the ground, Dummy chirping happily moving back and forth. Tony burst out laughing while the rest of the team gapped at the robot. Thor, in his anger, stood up and raised a fist, ready to crush the robot, without thinking it through. The bot rolled backwards, arm dropping, his excited chirping turning into an afraid one. Tony's eyes widened and in his haste to stop Thor, stood up, arm thrown in front of him. "Thor, no!"

The prince froze and then Tony gasped, grasping his right leg which shook under him. Bruce was on his feet, helping the genius. Clint had jumped from his position on the desk and Natasha had taken a step forward. Steve was back up again, worried gaze turned to him.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Tony insisted, sitting back. His eyes moved to Dummy who was looking miserable. "Thor, I would appreciate it if you didn't let your temper loose on my bots. Dummy was just playing a joke on you."

"I humbly apologize, Man of Iron." He then turned to the robot who glanced up fearfully. "I apologize for my rushed actions." Dummy's arm moved back up, he chirped happily before leaving them and going back to the two other robots who had watched the whole thing.

"Will you hit me if I say he's weird?" Clint asked, looking completely baffled.

Tony smiled affectively. "He is, but he's fine that way. I don't want to change him." He shrugged then turned back to Bruce. "Sooo… The Hulk's on my side?"

"Your fiercest defender." Bruce chuckled. "He wants to help you. Just let him."

Tony sighed. "Can it wait until tomorrow? I'm serious, guys; it's Christmas, I really wasn't planning on doing anything today."

They glanced at each other before nodding. Bruce handed him his crutch which he took reluctantly but knowing he had no choice but to – the little scene from earlier being proof enough his leg wasn't up to supporting his whole weight.

Together they left the shop, Tony waving one last time at the three bots who waved back happily.

He shook his head fondly and closed the door behind him.

Dummy, Butterfingers, You and Jarvis were as much family as the Avengers, Pepper and Rhodey were to him.

The family he made and chose.

* * *

**Soooo? What do you think? I promise next chapter you'll get more action.**

**AngelShep**


	18. Time For Revenge

**Hello! here's the new chapter! I hope you'll like it. I want to thank you, seeing as we're so closed to the end, for the incredible response to this story. I truly wasn't expecting so many people to read it and enjoy it. So thank you all!**

**Now I guess I'll let you to your reading. **

* * *

_**Time For Revenge**_

Natasha stood up straighter when the door opened and Pepper walked out, Happy behind her. She glanced at Clint who sat on a balcony above the room, bow in hand and arrows in his quiver, ready to spring into action if something happened. He nodded at her, the light reflecting itself on his sunglasses.

The crowd was big, she had counted thirty-six journalists and a dozen or so cameramen. The seven SHIELD agents were completely inconspicuous there. It was a simple precaution they thought was needed. Tony was still injured and Han Newman had gone after him once, there was no reason for him not to try again, especially in such a public instance and when Tony wasn't yet at the top of his form. Steve had wanted all of them to be here but Tony had argued against it protesting vehemently about the fact that he didn't need a baby-sitter. In the end they had found an agreement in the form of Clint and Natasha. Fury didn't let Tony argue and sent agents.

And Steve knew that if something happened, they weren't far since the press conference was held inside the Stark Tower. Only some floors were between them.

Natasha nodded at Pepper once she arrived next to her on the platform. She smiled and took her place in front of the podium. "Thank you all for coming. I know you have questions about many things and I am here to answer them."

She was about to continue when she was interrupted by one of the journalists. Natasha narrowed her eyes at her, wondering who she was. "Are the Avengers taking advantage of their position to attack innocents?"

Natasha heard a snort in her ear and she looked up at Clint who was shaking his head. "Are you naturally stupid or do you have to try?" She held back a smile and shot him a disapproving look. He grinned cheekily and shrugged.

Pepper threw her a icy smile and tilted her head. "I will let Tony answer for the rest of the Avengers. Because if you hadn't rudely interrupted me, you would have learned that Tony is here and will join me for this press conference, in the name of Stark Industries as well as the Avengers."

Happy smiled softly and looked down, repositioning itself, hands clasped in front of him. "You go Pepper!" Clint's voice sounded in her ear. This time she openly smiled, crossing her arms and looking over the crowd. They had all opened their mouth in surprise and stood gawking. The woman that had spoken up especially was looking baffled.

"So… let's not wait any longer…" She turned to the door and opened her mouth, ready to call Tony when a shot sounded. Natasha's hands flew to her back and she grabbed her gun. She saw Clint move down from his perch, an arrow notched into his bow. "Tony," Pepper let out before moving fast, towards the door.

"Pepper, wait, don't go alone!" Natasha called after her, running to stop her.

She jumped of the platform and grabbed Pepper's left arm, effectively stopping her. She threw her a look, ignoring the fiery glare she sent her way. Happy joined them and raised an eyebrow. "Don't stay here then!" Pepper snapped, gesturing at the door.

New shots were heard above the commotion, the journalists running in the opposite direction for most of them. Some stood closer, not wanting to miss it, to miss the exclusive paper they could make with that. A shooting at the Stark Tower, involving Tony Stark? It was gold for them.

The SHIELD agents separated, others going to the other door leading into the room. Clint joined her and nodded, before moving forward. That was when several men arrived, guns in hand and began firing at them. Natasha grabbed Pepper and sent them to the ground. She snapped her head back up and fired at the men. Clint was sending his arrows, not far from her, hiding behind a plant that was conveniently there. The agents were firing back as well and Natasha noted with a grim satisfaction that the only people falling weren't on their side.

She heard over the shots between them, the distinct sound of a rifle and locked eyes with Clint who sat frozen behind the plant, an arrow ready to be fired. He heard it too.

They had to get to Tony quickly.

"Is that… A rifle?" Pepper's voice sounded next to her, and she whipped her head towards the woman who was looking with wide fearful eyes at the door.

She moved her fingers to her ear. "Clint, we need to get in _now_."

"I hear you. I called Steve, they're on their way. How many left?"

"Five." She fired twice. "Now three."

"Let's go."

They both stood up, firing and moving forward. Natasha heard Pepper and Happy follow, but she knew they were safe. The last man fell, a bullet in his head and an arrow in his throat. The SHIELD agents moved from their position to follow them.

Natasha arrived first at the door, and nodded at Clint who took his position, arrow ready to fly the moment she will open the door. She realized then the silence behind the door. It didn't bode well to her.

She turned the knob and pushed the door.

A man looked up, finger tightening on the trigger of the gun he was holding. Clint let the arrow loose. "Tony!" Pepper screamed. The shot was released.

* * *

Steve's foot was tapping frenetically the ground, as he looked nervously at the screen. Rhodes wasn't holding it much better, his fingers tapping an unknown rhythm on his knee, as his eyes moved back and forth between Natasha on the platform and the door that was opening to let Pepper and Happy appear. They were glad they could at least see what was happening, but that didn't mean they had to like it.

Thor was pacing behind the couch both soldiers sat on, his hammer at his side, he was ready to blast his way downstairs the moment something happened. Bruce was the only one relatively calm, but it was just an appearance, they knew it because the Hulk was boiling inside for he wanted to be down there by his friend's side.

It wasn't an irrational fear Steve had. It was his instinct, an intuition that something bad was going to happen during that press conference. The moment Tony had decided to do it, he just _knew_ something wrong was going to come out of it. He wouldn't be surprised if it was Tony threatening the guy in public while cameras were on. The genius was bold that way, and the injuries he suffered weren't going to stop him from voicing his threats and thirst for revenge.

Pepper stepped to the podium and nodded and smiled politely. Natasha glanced somewhere up behind the camera and Steve had to smile. Clint wouldn't miss anything from his perch.

Bruce frowned when the woman interrupted Pepper, especially to ask such a question. Steve narrowed his eyes and stopped tapping his foot. "How dare she?" Thor snarled behind him.

"Don't pay much attention to her. I know journalists, she's simply trying to get a reaction out of Pepper. And possibly Natasha. She may have recognized her," Rhodes explained raising a hand and smiling.

Bruce nodded. "He's right." The doctor smiled when he heard Pepper reply. The woman definitively knew how to handle people like her.

Steve breathed in and out deeply; knowing now was the time for Tony to show up. Pepper turned to the door, the camera moved to zoom in on it…

And then the shot rang out. They all jumped to their feet. Thor was already out of the room when Bruce arrived at the elevator. Rhodes was at the suit, ready to put it on. Steve grabbed his shield and entered into the elevator, watching Thor jumped from the balcony and Rhodes flying after him. On the TV, the image was flicking between the SHIELD agents, Natasha, Clint and men with guns that were shooting back and forth.

"You'll be alright, Bruce?" Steve asked, rolling his shoulders and flexing his arms.

Bruce clenched his hands. "I will." He sighed. "We should have gone with him."

"He'll be alright."

"He better or I know someone that will knock it in his head that he has to stop getting into deadly situations." Steve smiled wryly at that and glanced at the shorter man who was wearing a green smile.

"I have no doubt about it, Hulk."

Green amused eyes turned to him and a groan of approval filled the cabin. The doors opened and the moment passed. Steve didn't have time to react before the Hulk was already out leaving only Bruce's shoes and shirt behind.

The captain shook his head but followed, ignoring the panicked and wide-eyed looks of the people around them. He had something else to focus on, something so much more important. He rushed towards the SHIELD agents he could see and sent his shield into the few men opposite them, knocking them out.

Steve noticed the door they were trying to protect and didn't waste a second to hurry up and reach it. He was about to open it when Rhodes and Thor arrived to help him. He opened the door.

The room was trashed but he didn't care about it. What he cared about was the man holding a gun at Tony's head. He noticed the door on the other side of the room open and Clint and Natasha appearing. Rhodes raised his hand, while he prepared his shield.

A repulsor beam cut through the air next to his shield while a cry echoed in the room.

A name.

Tony.

* * *

Pepper smiled at him while straightening the collar of his shirt. "You sure you wanna do this?"

"Yeah, it's fine. It's been a long time since I've made a public apparition, I have to show myself, even if it's just for a press conference." He shrugged a bit, slightly uncomfortable in the suit he needed to wear.

Fury had informed them about this the day after Christmas, stating that the intervention to save Tony and Pepper by the Avengers hadn't gone unnoticed. People were a bit angry and asking for an explanation that had yet to come despite the two weeks that had passed. Steve had volunteered to go until Pepper received a call from the publicity department of SI that said it would be good if Tony and her made an apparition. In the end, Tony decided the best way to deal with this was for him to go up there and show himself. The crutch he had to use, his face that still had traces of the abuse it received, as well as his broken finger and the slow and careful steps he took were going to be proof of why he hadn't appeared in the last few weeks and they wouldn't dare question his explanation of why the Avengers raided that warehouse.

It was a win-win situation.

"Okay. You're up in five. I'll call you." She smiled one last time, letting go of his shirt while he leaned forward to kiss her.

"I'll be fine. Now go." She acquiesced and turned around, leaving the room swiftly, Happy nodding at him and following her out. Tony sighed and leaned back on the table, flexing his leg a bit. If there was one thing he knew he was going to do once Pepper called him it was to sit. No way would he stay up for the press.

The problem with all of this press thing is that he couldn't go after Newman like he had originally planned. Now three days after he last got his location, the man was probably not there anymore, so it meant he was back to square one and had to find him again. So more time will pass. Something he wasn't happy about, but the Avengers, Pepper and Rhodey didn't seem too bothered by that.

_Of course_.

Something was suddenly pressed to the back of his head and he froze. _No, no, no, no. Just no way_. "Don't move Stark." Cause he was suicidal and wanted to get a bullet into his brain. Why not? After all it would go well with the shrapnel near his heart.

"Han Newman, I assume. You know, I've been dying to finally see your face." He said, gripping his crutch.

"You know who I am. Then shall we?" Tony heard footsteps moving behind him, going around the table, but he still refused to move. He knew better. He knew when he should act and when he should wait. He wondered briefly how he got here, with all those guards and SHIELD agents around and inside the building.

Tony gripped as much as he could the edge of the table and braced himself, moving his left foot so that he could move quickly when he would need to. "Shall we do what?"

The barrel of the gun appeared in front of his eyes and he moved his gaze to the man he had yet to see fully. The man who was the reason Pepper almost died. He narrowed his eyes at him, taking in the features he had time to see in that second the last time. He had it right. There was little he hadn't seen. The man was tall and he was wearing a very nice suit, which probably helped him get inside. His grey eyes fixed him with an amused glint in them. Why he was amused was beyond him.

"Go of course. I will not wait here any longer than necessary. And you will come with me." He gestured at the door on Tony's left, the one which he probably used to get in. So lost he was in his thoughts, he hadn't heard it open.

"Do I have a choice in the matter?" Tony asked, raising an eyebrow. He figured he could always ask, didn't hurt to try.

"I thought you knew me better than that, I didn't let you any choice before, why would I let you one now, Stark?" He gestured the gun at the door and inclined his head.

Tony made a face and turned to the side, in the direction the man wanted.

And then he hit, sending the crutch behind him and hitting the man on the chest. He turned swiftly on his left foot to hit again with his improvised weapon on the man's arm, sending the gun flying away from him. He grabbed the metal with his left hand and send the end in Han's face, knocking him back. He bit his lip hard when the movement made him lose his balance and forced him to put his weight on his wrong leg.

He had to leave this room quickly.

Two hands grabbing his crutch brought him back to the matter at hand. He was pushed back hard, but forced the pain out of his mind. He pushed back and let go with his right hand to punch him in the stomach. He then proceeded to hit him in the face and use the crutch to swipe at his legs, using his own momentum to run/stumble to the door, crutch firmly in hands, not willing to let go of his oh so useful weapon. He reached the door, half throwing himself onto it, when he froze.

The goddamn gun.

He threw himself to the side the moment the shot was made, the bullet impaling itself in the wall where his head had been only seconds before.

He crawled behind the couch that was there and which was soon shot at multiple times. A door opened and he looked back, rolling his eyes when he realized it wasn't that one. _Of course, it has to be some fucking reinforcements for him_.

And then the rhythm was quickened and he recognized the cadence of a rifle. Bits of wall exploded above him and he covered his head. He had to find a way to get out of here quickly. People must have noticed by now, a rifle wasn't something one could easily ignore.

He grabbed the crutch tightly and, looking at the couch closely, analyzing as fast as his brain could, he pushed its end into the couch, hitting the wood structure underneath the leather that was almost completely destroyed. The strength he put into it and the angle he was at sent the couch forward and it hit the man with the rifle, making him lose it. Tony got to his feet and used his now favorite weapon as a swinging bat to hit the man closer to him on the head, sending him crashing into the wall. This one wasn't about to get up soon.

Tony turned around and had to get down to avoid the punch that was heading his way. He threw himself at the man and sent him on the ground. He then knocked his head on the ground, hard enough that he heard the sickening crack of its skull breaking. He winced but didn't waste time lingering on the thought he may have killed the man with his bare hands, because there were still some left.

He rolled to the side, hearing a gunshot and feeling the rush of air just above him. _Lucky me_, he thought grimly. Where was the damn help? How long does it take for SHIELD agents to get in there?

A new thought hit him and made him freeze. What if there were other men in the press conference room? What if Pepper was in danger? _No, no, God, please Pepper be okay_. He heard footsteps getting closer and looked up, only to end up staring at the black hole of the barrel of the gun Han Newman was holding.

"This is it, this is the end of the great Tony Stark. Any last words?"

"Go to hell," he snarled, glaring at the man. His mind was rushing, trying to find a way out, because there _has_ to be one. It couldn't end that way. He needed to… he needed to tell Pepper he loved her, and to say to the Avengers that they were family. He had to bring Steve to his father's grave and he had to tell Fury he had a new design for the Helicarrier, he had to show Thor the new simple system he created so he could talk with his girlfriend and… There were so many things he still had to do, it _couldn't_, it was impossible his life would end like this.

His mind came to a blank, the finger tightened around the trigger.

* * *

**:D I'm proud of myself. Just saying. But tell me what you think anyway. I accept threats (happy?). Only one chapter left!**

**Review please!**

**AngelShep**


	19. Epilogue

**Hello! Well here it is. The last chapter. The end of this great adventure with you all. Thank you so much for reading and following this story. It really was wonderfl to have such a response to it, especially when this was originally only a one-shot and nothing more. So thank you all and I hope I will see some of you on my other stories or on yours! **

**So no more blabla and good chapter!**

* * *

_**Epilogue**_

"Tony!"

His mind finally kicked in and he threw himself on the side, the second Newman shot. His body collided hard with the ground, his thigh hitting painfully the floor and sending spikes of pain to his brain. He closed his eyes tightly and willed it away, feeling suddenly really tired.

There were hands on his arm and he let them turn him onto his back. "Please, Tony." He opened his eyes, ignoring the way the light seemed to burn his retina. His eyes focused on something just above his head and he smiled when he recognized Pepper's face. There were tears in her eyes and a smile was slowly making its way on her lips. "Tony," she whispered, relief filling the single word, joy vibrating in her voice.

"Hey, Pepper." He raised his right hand and pushed a lock of her hair behind her ear, resting his palm on her cheek. "Told you trouble was the one to find me." She shook her head. "Never the other way around."

He looked around and saw all of the Avengers hovering just behind Pepper, concern and joy mixed in on their face. They all came. Again.

He closed his eyes, feeling safe, knowing they were all there, and let his mind slip into the oh so welcoming unconsciousness.

* * *

Fury narrowed his eye as he looked at the images that were on every single TV channel. The Avengers as well as Pepper Potts and James Rhodes were there, sitting around the table, listening in on the news that had been on everyone's lips for the past few hours. The Attack on Tony Stark, but not just any attack, no. One that took place at the Stark Tower itself, where all the Avengers lived.

"… incredible response of the Avengers to the attack on Tony Stark this morning. As you can see the ones known as Black Widow and Hawkeye were both on the scene when the first shot sounded…"

People were moving on the screen, away from the room while the two agents could be seen, heading straight towards it, with their weapons drawn.

"… used to those attacks, judging by the way she was moving in sync with them. The efficiency and swiftness of the response to this attack proved the Avengers are a force to be reckoned with…"

Suddenly Thor, Steve and the Hulk were there as well and quickly everything came to an end as the winning side moved to the room. The camera followed them but stayed a respectable distance away, simply filming the events as Natasha opened the door.

"… close to death as you can see on those very images. Tony Stark was at gun point, ready to be executed, if not for the intervention of not one but three people. Captain America, Hawkeye and Iron Patriot did not miss their target…"

Pepper winced when she saw, for the second time, the state that triple attack put the man into. The arrow had planted itself into his throat which had been entirely cut in the second hat followed by the shield. The head had flew against the wall next to the opened door and the beam Rhodey had sent had burnt a hole inside the man's chest. If Tony hadn't thrown himself to the side, that beam wouldn't have left anything of his head.

"… put a new light on not only the Avengers, but the relations that seemed to bind them. A simple look at the concern on all of their faces as one of their own might very well be dead is enough to realize the team defending us, defending the planet is one we can trust…"

The camera zoomed in on each face, passing over Steve's wide blue eyes as his gaze remained fixed on Tony's form on the ground, Natasha's guarded look but worried chewing of her lips, Clint's swallow as he took a shaking breath, Thor's opened fear displayed all over his face, the Hulk's defeated posture, then moving on to Rhodey's rapid breathing and dark eyes. Finally the camera moved down to her own face, to her tears of joy and concern and relief, to her smile.

"… confirm what was suspected for quite some time now: the relationship between Stark Industries' CEO, Pepper Potts, and billionaire genius, Tony Stark…"

A little zoom out, just enough to be able to see Tony and her at the same time. Tony's smile and opened brown eyes, as he moved his hand to her face, as his thumb wiped some tears away.

For the first time Pepper saw what people saw when they looked at the both of them when they were sharing a moment. She saw the love shining in their eyes, she saw Tony's opened walls – not completely, almost never completely – she saw her own guard failing her as she relaxed completely.

"America, do not fear anymore. Such a team cannot be broken easily. You are protected."

The next image was of the team surrounding the gurney on which Tony was, Pepper holding one of his hands, Happy and Rhodey by her side, both with a hand on her shoulders. None of them were paying much attention to the cameras or the journalists around the room. They were looking over Tony and the other injured people, also on gurneys and being carried into ambulances.

Fury turned off the TV then and moved his attention to them. "Somehow, this turned into good publicity."

A ghost of a smile appeared on Bruce's lips. "A miracle. Are you sure Tony didn't intervene somewhere along the way?"

Pepper snorted. "He's so out of it, he asked why Mike punched him. I had to explain to him he wasn't at a boarding meeting and so Mike couldn't have hit him."

Rhodey laughed and put his hand on his mouth to try and muffle it a bit. Clint bit into his hand as he remembered the face Tony had made when she told him that.

Fury sighed. "Do you think Stark will stop ending up in my infirmary for the next month at the very least? I've seen him there enough and doctors are starting to complain."

"Only now?" Clint asked, with disbelieving eyes. Natasha smacked his arm, sending him a look. He just shrugged, not embarrassed at all.

Thor smiled happily. "We will make sure the Man of Iron stay out of danger."

"Do you think it's possible to tie him down on the couch for the next month?" Steve asked idly, arms crossed over his chest, eyes shining with amusement. Bruce grinned at the thought while Natasha raised an interested eyebrow.

Rhodey scoffed. "He'll find a way to still hurt himself." Pepper closed her eyes, smiling and brushed her hair back from her face.

"Who's gonna hurt himself?" A voice asked behind her. She wiped her head back and raised her eyebrows at Tony when he smiled cheekily at her. "Doc let me out when I made the alarms go off twice. Said they couldn't bother keeping me around."

Exasperated and fond sighs escaped all the people around the room as she rose from her seat while throwing him a disapproving look. "I thought I told you to be nice."

"I was!" he protested. "They just wouldn't let me be my genius self. What was I supposed to do down there with nothing but a stupid remote to a dinosaur of a TV?" She heard somebody – somebodie_s_ – snort behind her at that. "It's not funny, Clint and – Rhodey? How dare you betray me like that, siding with Robin Hood!"

A chair scraped the floor and she moved to the side, to be able to see the rest of the people there. Rhodey was up and moving towards Tony, a bid smile on his face. "You know what, Tony, it's good to have you back."

Tony narrowed his eyes. "Don't think you got me fooled, platypus, I'm not gonna forget you sided with a bird over your best buddy." Clint rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.

"Platypus?" Thor asked, confused.

They all looked at him, then the attention snapped to Tony and Rhodey who were glancing at each other. Rhodey scratched his chin while the inventor shrugged. Bruce decided to at least cleared Thor's confusion a little. "It's some kind of animal. It's very peculiar. I'll show you a picture of one if you want."

"What I want to know is why you would call him _that_," Clint asked, snickering. "Cause really Iron ass, I don't see why he shouldn't side with me seeing as he lays eggs just like a bird."

"I don't lay eggs!" Rhodey cried indignantly while Tony started laughing.

Fury let his head fall into his hands and grumbled something that sounded a lot like: "I'm in a kindergarten."

Pepper simply smiled and wrapped her arms around Tony's waist careful of his yet-to-be-healed ribs, leaning into him slightly and listening absently to Clint, Rhodey and Tony's back and forth. She felt his arm around her shoulders and, looking over the team, her boyfriend's relaxed posture, she knew everything was going to be alright again.

* * *

"Seriously, you can't stay any longer?"

Steve looked up from his sketchbook to see Rhodey (as he had insisted everyone called him that) and Tony enter the living room where he was. Tony no longer had his crutch but he was still moving slowly and limping. Unfortunately no one had managed to get him to keep on using the crutch for a while longer. Therefore the genius had ditched it two days ago, judging there was no way he would be appearing at the New year's Eve with it (_It doesn't go with my style. _– _This isn't about style, it's about your health, Tony_. – _Discussion closed, Dummy, here's a new toy for you!_). The robot had loved it and rendered it completely useless after managing to bend it.

They didn't seem to realize he was there as Rhodey sighed and stopped to face Tony. "I came against my direct orders in the first place Tony. It's been three weeks, I have to go back."

"A week! Just a week! Come on, I almost never see you cause you're always somewhere in Asia!" Tony whined, which made Steve smile. The billionaire could really sound like a child sometimes.

"I'll come back flying."

Tony rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "I should have never let you have the suit."

"You'll be fine, Tony," the colonel said, putting a hand on Tony's shoulder.

He visibly deflated. "It was better when you were hanging around the States." He grabbed the man's arm and squeezed. "What do you say? Next time you're in the country, we go have a drink together. And we talk about that hideous name. Iron Patriot? Who came up with that?"

Rhodey squeezed back and smiled. "Sure thing. A drink. And War Machine was too provocative according to the government."

They let go of each other and started moving again, heading out, their voices slowly fading out. "Since when are they right?" was the last thing he heard.

Steve looked back down at his sketchbook and breathed out. The relationship between the two friends had baffled him. They were different but the soldier imagined years together and common memories were what made their friendship work.

He felt like he had intruded into something he shouldn't. They didn't say anything they wouldn't have said in front of them, maybe Tony had been a little less guarded than usual, but it was nothing. He groaned and let his head fall back onto the couch.

He had seen it. The proof of how right Fury had been a couple of weeks ago. Tony might never trust them back fully, completely. But he was okay with that. They all were. They had screwed up and it seemed fair they didn't get away with it as easily as that.

He wouldn't be surprised when he saw the guarded look in Tony's eyes when he looked at them while they were talking about a touchy subject or getting into too deep of a conversation.

None of them would.

None of them will push.

Because they learned the hard way how _fragile_ and _precious_ trust was. It was a gift given to them because one thought they deserved it. It was a rose easily crushed, a rose easily destroyed by lack of inattention to it, by lack of appreciation and they were going to make sure that rose never died again.

It was their second chance.

It was their last.

It was beautiful.

**La fin**

* * *

**Here it is. The end. Hope you liked it. **

**Please tell what you thought of this chapter and the whole story.**

**Thank you all again for following this story, thank you for reviewing.**

**AngelShep**


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